Honey Melon, For The Gooey Tea Addicts
by yukiee jun. - x.chibininja
Summary: Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop. Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni. Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN
1. Kawaii Suihou Ti Café: Welcome!

**H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts  
**Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

* * *

**Notes: **AU, no magic stuff. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling.  
_**Ages: **Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 21. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. Easy as that!  
**Authors Note:** Well, hope this is enjoyable. It'll be like a drama, of course! Like those Asian dramas. Please enjoooy! Oh, and BTW, honey melon and strawberry are my favourite bubble teas. Meiling won't make an appearance in this chapter but she IS in the story - she is not related to Syaoran though! She's a friend of the CCS gang !

* * *

**Part 1 - Kawaii Suihou Ti Café: Welcome! **

Kinomoto Sakura was late. She was incredibly, absolutely late. She nearly broke the alarm clock as she smashed the top of it to shut it off, then scrambled off the bed, her pink sheets wrapping around her legs. Kero, a small, orangey-yellow and white dog, whined at her for waking him up. "Hoee…" she complained, rubbing her auburn hair covered head, the her crystal emerald eyes. But she had no time to waste - she hopped up as soon as she could, and ran into the shower.

Within half an hour, she was out the door, Kero barking a goodbye from the door. She covered her athletic, slim body with a pink, off-the-shoulder zip up three-quartered shirt and white skirt. She made sure it wasn't over-the-top short, because she was off to work. Her calves were covered with striped green and blue socks, and she wore white boots that were loose around her mid calves and ankles. She could've been dressed for a date, but she was off to work instead.

Kawaii Suihou Ti Café. The bubble tea shop hadn't opened for more than 5 months, but it was popular among Tomoeda University students. In one section of Kawaii Suihou Ti, they sold anime merchandise. They also sold bubble tea, of course. They had another part where a closed fireplace stood on one side of the wall, a ps3 hooked up to a plasma tv on the other side, where two couches sat their lazily, waiting for people to come and play some video games. There were also several tables and booths for people to eat some of their favourite food that the café offered.

Sakura struggled to get through the door, having to squeeze through an over-weight girl and one of the members of the Tomoeda Tigers Basketball Team, and darted through the shop and behind the counter.

"Sakura-san, you're late!" mumbled Sakura's pretty co-worker, juggling three bubble teas in her arms. Her long, waist length blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and she had tired looking blue eyes.

"No sleep last night, Yuri-san?" she asked while she grabbed her name tag.

"None whatsoever," she sighed, taking a customers cash and putting it into the register. "Thanks for coming!" she said, suddenly perky, and waved goodbye.

Birds could be heard chirping outside. "Wow," Yuri growled. "As soon as you come, all the customers leave."

Sakura giggled. "Why don't you take a break, I'll cover." Yuri nodded, brushing a hair behind her ear.

"Okay, I'll be back in 15." she waved goodbye to Sakura and strutted out the door.

Sakura was officially bored. Leaning over the counter, she rested her head in her hands and waited for someone to come in. She had exactly five hours and forty-five minutes until she could leave work and go home. Closing her eyes, should almost drifted to sleep, but shook herself awake.

Yuri came back in fifteen minutes, as she said. They worked together for the next five hours and twenty minutes, until Yuri took another break…

"Hoee…" Sakura mumbled. She only had twenty-five minutes until she was off. It was six o'clock, but the Japan Sun was still burning bright. "Why is no one here…" the store was empty, with exception to a couple in the corner booth doing some homework.

Then, the doors were pushed open from in front of her. In walked the most godlike creature she ever saw: intense amber eyes, brown chocolate hair the fell in front of the same eyes. His healthy, clean skin was light but possessed a tan. His expression was unfathomable, his intense stare making her jump up from her lazy position. To see more of him. He was slim and tall, almost six feet, but he was strong and muscular. Well, it seemed like that, the way his black Armani jacket covered his body and G-star jeans his legs.

"Welcome to Kawaii Suihou Ti, I'm Sakura!" she greeted happily. He approached the counter and raised his eyebrow.

"Cute Bubble Tea?" he asked. Sakura shrugged.

"I didn't name the shop. What would you like?"

The guy gazed up at the big menu hanging up high behind Sakura. "Honey Melon Bubble Tea." he stated simply, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve his trendy black wallet.

"Real Fruit or Fake?" she asked, punching in his order.

"Real." he replied, looking impatient.

"Juice or Milk?"

"Milk…"

"Sago or no sago?"

"Sago!"

Sakura jumped at his risen tone. He didn't appear to be mad, but he looked incredibly impatient. "S-sorry. Not many people order Honey Melon."

"Really now? What do they order then?" he asked, pushing his brown locks back.

Smiling, Sakura answered. "They usually order taro or mango. I like strawberry, myself though," Sakura punched in the rest of his order. "Alright, it'll be 4.96."

He pulled out a five and handed it to Sakura. His hands were pretty big, as most guys are, but his hands were smooth and looked kind of soft. "Keep the change for yourself, Strawberry Girl."

Sakura snorted. "A whole four cents for me? My, you must give millions to charities!"

"Not millions," he chuckled gently. "But you aren't a charity."

"True!" Sakura pondered the thought. "I could, however, use shopping money. Not that I'm asking you for it. That's why I'm here, working at Suihou Ti."

"Well, Strawberry Girl - "

"Sakura!" Sakura cut off.

"Nah, I like Strawberry Girl better." the guy smirked, and Sakura blushed.

"Well then, what do I call you? Honey-Melon Boy? That sounds very funny." Sakura told him as she moved through the back to make his bubble tea.

His smirk widened. "Li Syaoran." he introduced. "Nice to meet you."

The name sounded familiar. Sakura saw Tomoyo, her best friend, peeking in from outside, her black hair hanging behind her as she spied. _That Tomoyo, the modern day ninja… _"Kinomoto Sakura," she said. "Nice to meet you too. Here's your bubble tea, thanks for coming." Sakura offered a friendly smile to him. He didn't return it, but he smirked. "I'll see you later."

__

Later?

She exhaled and watched his retreating back. Tomoyo walked in as he walked out, and she turned back for another look.

"IEEE! Sakura-chan, he's so cute!" she squealed as soon as the door shut and he walked down the street.

"Hoeee…"

"Sakura-chan, do you know him? You two were talking longer than usual customers do!" Tomoyo asked, walking around the counter to look at Sakura.

"No, of course not. I just met him. His name is Li Syaoran." Sakura replied, making herself a strawberry bubble tea.

"Ah, a foreign cutie who speaks Japanese?" Tomoyo asked curiously, eyeing Sakura.

"Yeah, his Japanese is almost better than yours!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "He's rich too! Oh my gosh, he should totally ask me out!"

"IEE! SAKURA-CHAN, YOU SHOULD DATE HIM!"

"I WAS KIDDING!"

The door swung open again, and the two girls turned to see who it was. In walked a black haired, glassed adorned man. He was tall and slim, not as muscular as Syaoran but still strong, clad in mostly blue and black.

"Eriol-kun, what's up?" Sakura asked, seeing who it was. Tomoyo sighed.

"Have you come to buy a bubble tea from the poor but hardworking girls?" Tomoyo asked, walking to the register.

"Oh, of course not. I can't stand those little black balls at the bottom. They look like snot." Eriol replied. Sakura and Tomoyo then saw that he had his black messenger bag slung over his shoulder, and a Yamazaki Takashi following.

"Oh, you guys are going to do homework?" Tomoyo realized, taking her hands away from the keypad of the register.

"Eriol, maybe, I'm here to suck on a sweet, sweet bubble tea." Takashi smiled widely. "You know what I like." Sakura smirked.

"And you know the price, cough it up." she said, holding out her hand.

"…err, how about an I.O.U?"

Sakura shook her head with a smile, withdrawing her hand, and Takashi frowned.

Eriol walked himself over to a table near the counter, and placed a book and notebook in front of him. "And now, time for the great study of Law!" he exclaimed in mock excitement. Takashi took a seat across from Eriol. "Still don't get why you're taking Law, man. It's so boring. Be an actor, like me!"

"Stupid," Eriol rolled his eyes. "You're not even taking that seriously, you know you're going to get a career in playing basketball."

Takashi nodded his head enthusiastically.

"That's right, maybe Takashi shouldn't be gulping down loads and loads of bubble tea so he can keep in shape," their friend, Chiharu's voice came from the door. She was accompanied by Rika and Naoko. Chiharu's pigtails wiggled as she walked over to the table and took a seat next to Takashi. "and have enough money to afford dates with me."

The gang laughed. "Hm, did you guys see that guy walking down the street? The one decked out in Armani?" Rika asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, that's Li Syaoran," Takashi informed them. "Li, as in, the only son and the heir of the Li Corporation.

"So that's why he looks so rich! Because he is!" Rika exclaimed with a half-laugh.

__

The only son of the Li Corporation? The HEIR of the Li Corporation?!

Sakura mentally groaned. _He must be a flirt, that's why he was so … well, half-friendly. _

Tomoyo's expression changed drastically: she was now wide-eyed and her mouth was open. "SAKURA-CHANOHMYGOSHLISYAORANWASFLIRTINGWITHYOU!" she squealed incoherently.

"Uh," Sakura couldn't understand. "Sorry?"

"I said," Tomoyo said, her tone back to normal. "SAKURA-CHAN OH MY GOSH LI SYAORAN WAS FLIRTING WITH YOU!" her voice rose back to it's previous loudness.

The gang automatically began screaming out questions.

"He DID?!"

"WHAT DID HE SAY?!"

"Aww, Sakura, you get all the good guys…"

"WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me!"

Tomoyo fluttered like a mosquito around Sakura, raising her eyebrows suggestively. Sakura swatted her away. "So? He's rich - I bet he's some kind of playboy too."

Her black haired best friend giggled her specialty laugh - "Ohohohohohohoho!"

"Not. Even." Sakura growled, glaring at her friends.

Rika chuckled. "Don't be angry, Sakura. You're so so so lucky!"

Eriol finally looked up from his law textbook. "I know Li Syaoran. We went to school together the one year I was an exchange student at his high school in Hong Kong for a semester."

"No way," Sakura blinked. "When did the world get so small?"

"He's an okay guy," Eriol told them. "Only nice to people he thinks are worth it."

Takashi looked apprehensively at Eriol. "He hated you, didn't he?" Eriol laughed.

"No, he was my first friend in Hong Kong."

Tomoyo suddenly reached into her pink messenger bag and pulled out a small camcorder. "So what does our friend Sakura-chan think about the tall, dark and handsome stranger that was flirting with her?" she said in a narrators voice.

Sakura glared at the lens, a small red light turning on underneath it. "Sakura-chan thinks the video camera needs to come off, now." she took a swipe at the camcorder, but Tomoyo was too quick.

"I don't think so!" she teased. "Come on!"

"Well… he's cute?" Sakura offered. "He reminds me of a wolf."

The door behind them jingled, and in walked beautiful Yuri. "Oh, business is back?" she asked excitedly. She took another look at the 'customers'. "Oh, never mind…" she sighed.

Sakura laughed. "Well, if it counts, I bought myself a bubble tea," she told Yuri, waving her strawberry bubble tea at her.

Rolling her eyes, Yuri half-laughed. "So what did I miss?"

"The hottest guy ever flirting with Sakura! Who also happens to be the rich son of Yelan Li, the owner of Li Corporation." Naoko grinned, seeing Yuri's face.

"You mean Syaoran Li? He is SO hot! Agh, how did I miss him?!" Yuri wailed, banging her head once against the counter.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at her co-worker. "How did you know his name right off the bat?"

"Uh, hello, not only is he the heir to Li Corporation, but he's also a musician. He's sometimes reported in the tabloids." Yuri replied, as if it was the most common thing in the world.

"Tabloids? Huh, so Wolf Boy is rich, good looking and famous?" Takashi asked, rolling his eyes.

Yuri nodded. "Only in China, till now. I think he's here to promote his new album. He also won China's Martial Arts contest. Oh, and he's come to Japan to enrol at some university. Don't know which one, though. Maybe Tokyo Uni?"

Eriol chuckled. "What are you, some kind of stalker? Knowing this much about someone is so creepy."

Pouting, Yuri shook his head. "No way! I just read a lot of magazines…"

Another jingling came from the doorway. In walked five teens, the boys' hair gelled and spiked up in different directions, the girls' hair long and straight. They were obviously teens from Seijyuu High, and they greeted Sakura and Yuri with a smile. "Hey! Just thought we'd drop in to see who the _real _Tekken 5 master is," said a boy, obviously the leader of their pack. "And of course order some sweet, sweet bubble tea."

"Sure," Sakura smiled. "What would you like?"

Four of the teens knew exactly what they wanted, but the last, a meek looking girl with brown hair and deep brown eyes, gave her a nervous smile. "Um… what's good here?"

Sakura's grin widened. "Well, I here the honey-melon is good…"

* * *

Sakura waved goodbye to her friends and Yuri. Eriol and the gang had decided to stay behind, deciding to tutor Eriol in law, so Sakura was on her own. She had made herself a honey-melon bubble tea for the way home, and she walked off, the sun burning against her back and ocean's hypnotic waves crashing.

As odd as it was, Sakura had actually never tasted a honey melon bubble tea. So she decided to taste it, to decide what the hype was. She sucked in some of the gooey tea, more than a few sago come up with it. She chewed down the sago and swallowed, the honey melon taste running on her tongue and down her throat. It was actually pretty good.

"So, decided to taste the god of bubble teas?"

Sakura jerked her head towards the voice, which came from behind her. The sun almost blinded her as she squinted and made out the figure: tall, handsome, muscular, and smouldering amber eyes hidden behind some Diesel sunglasses.

"Li-san!" she blinked with surprise. She looked down at her bubble tea and smiled. "Yup, you could say that. It still doesn't beat strawberry though, not by a mile."

He walked nearer and nearer to her. She hadn't realized she'd stopped walking. "Are you sure now, Strawberry Girl? That seems quite unlikely. Like I said," he smirked, pointing to her bubble tea. "God of the Bubble Teas."

Sakura laughed, then sucked down another gulp of sweet, milky tea and sago. "It's good, but not that good!"

Syaoran pulled off his sunglasses, revealing his intense amber eyes. "Alright, why don't we dub Strawberry as the queen of bubble teas?"

"Hmmm," Sakura said after thinking about this. "Maybe. So what are you doing here, Li-san? Were you back to buy more bubble tea?"

"Nope, just taking a walk down the beach," he said, using his chin to gesture at the ocean, sparkling in the setting sun. "Care to join me?"

"Ah, I would, but what if there are paparazzi around? It'd be a shame for some headline to come out tomorrow: Li Syaoran-san's mysterious Japanese girlfriend? Is this why he came?" Sakura mock-exclaimed the headlines.

"I assure you, if that were to happen, it would be fine because you're cute."

Sakura blushed; she wasn't expected such a flattering comment from the famous Li Syaoran.

"So, will you come with me for a walk down the boardwalk?" he asked with a seductive smile.

"Well… alright, only because you insist." Sakura teased, and followed him down the sidewalk.

The smell of the ocean lingered in their noses, and the sun was still bright and high in the sky. It was summer in Japan; the heat was sweltering. People stayed at the beach for as long as they could, until the sun started to set at around nine o'clock. "So, what's a big Hong Kong star like you doing in Japan?"

Syaoran thought about this. "Let's not talk about me, what about you, Strawberry Girl?"

"What about me?"

"Uhm," Syaoran said. "Let's start with your age? I don't want anyone to think I'm some sort of pedophile."

Sakura raised her eyebrow, and brushed back her long auburn hair. "What are you saying, I look young?"

"Hm, not necessarily." he replied.

"Well, I'm 20," Sakura told him. "Sophomore in university."

Syaoran grinned. "So am I."

Sakura's grinned matched his, her emerald eyes sparkling. "Really, are you going to university here?"

"Yes, I have to." he replied.

"Are you going to go to Tom-"

"HEADS UP!!" screamed a girl from the side. Sakura suddenly felt something hard and fast hitting her head; a volleyball, knocking her forward into Syaoran. Syaoran's tanned arms reached to the curve at Sakura's waist to prevent her from falling. "Hoee!" Sakura whined. "Are you ok? I'm sorry!"

Suddenly she was falling. Sakura was aware of the barking of a dog, and then Syaoran yelping. "Wei! What the heck?!"

A dog had ran over to Syaoran and head butted the section behind his knees, which had made him lose balance and topple over, pulling Sakura down with him too.

Sakura had falled on top of her, their legs tangled and her head smacking into his shoulder. "HOEE!" she screamed in surprise. Now, she was _very _aware of Syaoran's arms around her now.

She jumped up and so did Syaoran. Her bubble tea had spilt into the sand. Sakura brushed herself off, hiding her strawberry-pink blush. "I-I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.

"It's okay!" Syaoran replied, just as jumpy. "I'm sorry for pulling you down!"

"It's okay," Sakura exhaled. She calmed down, ever so s l o w l y.

"Let me buy you some ice cream." he more stated then asked. He ran off to the ice ream stand, leaving Sakura standing in the sand by herself. He was back in less than 2 minutes, holding in one hand a strawberry cone, in the other a chocolate cone. He offered her the strawberry one, and she took it graciously.

"Thank you," she told him. "How did you know I liked strawberry?"

Syaoran raised his brow. "Are you saying I wouldn't know that a Strawberry Girl who likes Strawberry Bubble Tea wouldn't like Strawberry Ice cream too?"

Sakura laughed. "Heh, you're right." she said, taking a lick of the sweet, cold treat. Glancing at her watch, she frowned. "I'm sorry, but I need to go home and prepare dinner for my dad."

"No problem," Syaoran nodded. "Maybe I'll see you again."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find some way to accidentally bump into me again."

Sakura gave Syaoran a peace sign, then ran off, ice cream in her hand and smile unbreakable. She knew that she'd see more of this guy.

* * *

_Preview of Chapter 2:_

_Running into her classroom, Sakura found that not only was she again late, but this time, someone else was too. Her momentum couldn't be stopped - so, just outside the classroom door, she ran smack-dab into her other late classmate. "WEI!" "HOEE!" they both yelled at the same time. Sakura began to fly backwards from the impact, but a strangely soft and familiar hand reached out to grab her and pull her back. A little too hard, however, as her head of auburn hair smacked into his firm, toned chest._

_Wei? Sakura thought. Who else says Wei in Japan but…_

_"Strawberry Girl?!" _

* * *

**And there you have it, chapter one plus the preview for chapter two. Please stick around for more, it's going to get a lot better… Anyway. Please review, eh? It motivates me. Also, I won't be updating until I get at least ten reviews… so, you know, click the pretty blue button. It helps to get constructive criticism, it makes me a better writer.**


	2. Make a Wish! 11:11

**H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts  
**Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

* * *

**Notes: **AU, no magic stuff. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling.  
_**Ages:** Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 21. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.  
**Chapter 2 Disclaimer: **I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura or it's characters. I don't own BIG BANG, or their song, LAST FAREWELL / LAST GREETING. I do not own the car, A 2008 LAMBOURGHINI GALLARDO. I do not own the song used in this chapter, it is called Bei Ji Xing De Yan Lei by Nicholas Teo.  
**Authors Note:** Well, hope this is enjoyable. It'll be like a drama, of course! Like those Asian dramas. Please enjoooy! Oh, and BTW, honey melon and strawberry are my favourite bubble teas. Meiling won't make an appearance in this chapter but she IS in the story - she is not related to Syaoran though! She's a friend of the CCS gang !

* * *

**Chapter 2: 11:11, Make A Wish!**

Sakura was a little more jumpy and happy than she usually was when she arrived home, and her brother, Toya, could tell. She met him on the driveway, and smiled to him.

"Oniichan! You've come back to visit?" she asked, coming up to him. Toya pulled her into a short hug and then nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "I don't have work today so I thought I'd come and stay for dinner."

Sakura raised a single brow. "No homework, too? So you're saying you want to spend a night with Dad and I instead of a date with Nakuru-san?"

The corner of Toya's mouth when up. "What are you talking about, Nakuru went back to England until the end of this month."

"Ohh," Sakura grinned. "So you're lonely."

"Kaijuu!" Toya hollered as Sakura started running into the house. "I am not!"

Toya Kinomoto was Sakura's older brother, who was 24, and in his last year at Tomoeda University, also played on a soccer team at the university. He was dating Akizuki Nakuru, who he had met in High school - and had moved out of the Kinomoto household two years ago to live in an apartment with his fiancée, Nakuru.

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "Yes you are! You miss your lovely fiancée, Nakuru!" Toya gave up chase when Kero ran to him, excited to see him again.

"Hey, Kero!" he exclaimed, giving the cute dog a belly-rub. "What's for dinner, Kaijuu?"

Sakura walked over to him and stomped on his foot. "I am not a kaijuu!" Toya hollered from the pain.

"ONLY A KAIJUU CAN STOMP ON HER BROTHER'S FOOT LIKE THAT!"

"-err, are we interrupting a fight again?"

Sakura and Toya jerked their heads over to the direction of the voice, and there stood the white-haired Yukito Tsukishiro and Sakura's friend Meiling. "O-oh, Hi Yukito, Meiling-san," Toya muttered. "Come to join us for dinner?"

"Well no," Yukito replied. "I was just walking past when I heard you two hollering at each other."

Meiling nodded. "And I was going to come by and ask Sakura if she wanted to go to movies tonight."

Sakura laughed nervously and stepped away from her brother and his injured foot. "Well, I'm going to have to decline about the movies, but would you two like to stay for dinner? I'm going to make some spaghetti." Yukito licked his lips, and Meiling nodded enthusiastically.

"But of course!"

Sakura ended up having to make double the amount of spaghetti she usually made, because Yukito ate like a _horse. _He ate triple Toya - which was saying a lot because Toya ate like a… well, not as much as Yukito so he ate like a pony. She and Meiling watched a movie in her room, but soon it 11pm, and Meiling had to go home or else her parents would ' cut her open and take out the entrails,' as she'd described it. She nodded goodnight to the best friends and her father after they had hung out for a bit and made her way up to her room, Kero staying with Toya.

Shutting the door, Sakura laid back on her bed.

"Fwaaah!" she yawned, rubbing her tired emerald eyes. She then looked at her alarm clock, which read, '11:11'. _Oooh, _Sakura thought. _Make a wish before bed! _

For half of the minute it was hard to wish, because Sakura didn't know what to wish for. She had almost everything she needed; great friends, family, a good job, good education (and the coolest teachers). Then, she made it:

__

I wish I'll see Li Syaoran again.

* * *

She was late, once again. Her alarm clock had failed to go off, so Kero took it as his responsibility to wake the sleeping girl. She was 20 minutes behind schedule, which meant she only had fifteen minutes to get ready, and ten minutes to race to her university. "HOEE!" she wailed while Kero licked her face. She fell over the edge of her bed, once again, and in a tangled mess of legs, arms, blankets, sheets, and a dog, Sakura managed to get out and ran into the shower.

Toya knocked the bathroom door from outside. "Don't worry Kaijuu, Dad's taking us to school! I need to get there, too."

Sakura yelled a thank-you from inside the shower, but she still needed to rush. She got out of the shower, then threw on her clothes: a green, form fitting t-shirt and a black skirt. She once again pulled on another pair of those long socks, but today they were baby blue and turtle green striped, and slipped on her loose white boots. She dried her naturally straight hair, then shoved her books into her bag.

"KAIJUU! GET DOWN HERE NOW! WE'RE LEAVING!" Toya hollered from downstairs.

"Hoee! I'm coming! Geez, Toya!" she yelled back. She pulled on a black sweater, leaving it unzipped and raced downstairs.

Toya's eyes bugged out at her. "You are SOO not wearing that." Sakura's mouth dropped agape at him.

"What are you talking about! This isn't revealing!"

"But all the guys will still look at you! You look too nice!"

"SO!? THAT'S GOOD! YOU IDIOT!"

"Can you two stop arguing?" snapped Kinomoto Fujitaka "I'm going to be late for my lecture! Can we go?"

Grumbling, the Kinomoto siblings grudgingly followed their father Fujitaka to their sleek black car. It wasn't anything rich people would drive, but it looked fine and it did it's job. Fujitaka Kinomoto was an archaeologist, and when he wasn't on digs, he was doing lectures at universities around Japan. Sakura guessed that he was making another appearance at Tomoeda University today.

When they arrived at the university, no one was late except Sakura. Toya had another ten minutes until his class, and Fujitaka's lecture wouldn't begin until he got there, anyway. Sakura waved goodbye to her brother and her father then dashed like a maniac to her sociology class.

Running into her classroom, Sakura found that it wasn't just her that was late, but this time, someone else was too. Her momentum couldn't be stopped - so, just outside the classroom door, she ran smack-dab into her other late classmate. "WEI!" "HOEE!" they both yelled at the same time.

Sakura began to fly backwards from the impact, but a strangely soft and familiar hand reached out to grab her and pull her back. A little too hard, however, as her head of auburn hair smacked into his firm, toned chest.

__

Wei?

Sakura thought. _Who else says Wei in Japan but…_

"Strawberry Girl?!"

It was Syaoran. Sakura steadied herself for one moment to look up at him, his entrancing amber eyes concerned. This close, she realized his eyes had specks of gold in it, and his chestnut - coloured hair had lighter strands in it, too. "Li-san?" she asked. He nodded, and they seemed to freeze on the spot as they stared at each other. "I like your shirt." Syaoran said. "Nice color."

"Ahem," the teacher cleared his voice. "If you two are done staring at each other…"

Sakura jerked her head to her teacher, Terada Yoshiyuki. He didn't appear mad, instead gracing his face with an amused look. "So, Kinomoto, want to sit down?" Terada-sensei didn't add on the suffix, and he hadn't been for a while. He had taught Sakura in grade 4 - 6, then once again in grade 9, then in grade 12, and then he had come to Tomoeda University to teach sociology. It was often said as a joke that he followed his fiancée, Rika, throughout her school years.

"Sorry, Terada-sensei!" she quickly bowed, then ran to a seat next to Eriol. She shared this class with Eriol, Tomoyo, and Takashi.

Terada nodded at her, then looked pointedly at Syaoran, who walked into the class and stood at the front. "We have a new student joining us from Hong Kong, China, today," Terada explained to his class. "Introduce yourself."

Syaoran held his books in one hand, and did a little bow to the class. "My name's Li Syaoran. I just came here a week ago." he said.

"Why did you come to Japan?" Terada asked, sitting at his desk. Sakura could see that Meiling, in front of her, was going to have a panic attack.

"I came to clear up some business for my mother." he replied, suddenly staring at Sakura. A student raised his hand.

"Yes, Kyo?" he asked a boy with spiky hair. Kyo stood up.

"Aren't you that Chinese pop idol slash songwriter? Are you here to promote your new album?" he asked, then sat down. The class starting murmuring, gossiping to each other.

"I guess you could say that, but I'm not here to promote any new album. I'm focussing my future on taking over Li Corporation." _and my mother is making me. _he added silently.

"Alright, that's enough Li-san. Please sit behind Kinomoto, Kinomoto, raise your hand." Terada told him, pointing to Sakura. Sakura whipped her hand into the air, smiling widely. Syaoran smiled back; but it was not nearly as big as Sakura's.

"Alright class, it's time to begin…"

As soon as class was dismissed, Sakura stood up and gathered her books. Meiling practically jumped Syaoran.

"Xiao Lang!" she exclaimed, looking at his face. Syaoran peered back at her and then it was like the light bulb clicked on. "Meiling? Yang Meiling?"

Meiling nodded her head up and down. "Yeah! It's been so long!" she reached over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Syaoran returned the hug lightly.

"You two know each other?" Tomoyo asked curiously. Meiling nodded again.

"Yup. Our parents were friends, and apparently our families were allies in feudal times."

Takashi shook his head in disbelief. "Wow, everyone knows each other nowadays. Even Chinese pop Idol singer songwriters whatchamacallits!"

Everyone laughed heartily, then Syaoran lightly touched Sakura's arm. She turned to him questioningly. "Do you have another class, Strawberry Girl?" Tomoyo and Meiling's eyes lit up from behind them, and they listened in.

Sakura shook her head with a half smile. "Nope, we were going to head down to the beach. Want to come with?"

Syaoran nodded. "Alright, the beach in front of your bubble tea shop?" Sakura quietly said yeah, then shoved her books into her messenger bag. "Meet us there in half an hour. These guys have to get their stuff, I already have mine.."

Nodding, Syaoran smiled and left with them. They walked out onto the courtyard together, then Syaoran turned to walk to his car, then stopped. "Do you want to come with me, Strawberry Girl? Since you already have your stuff?" he gestured over to his car.

Sakura hesitated at first, then looked at the car he was pointing at. It was sleek, black, and beautiful. His 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo fit his character completely. The sun shone off the shiny black painted car and nearly blinded her.

"OHMYGODIT'SAGALLARDO!" Takashi and Eriol exclaimed all in one gasp.

Meiling laughed wickedly. "I think Takashi-kun is excited…"

"Oh yeah, Eriol," Syaoran said. "It's cool seeing you again." Eriol nodded and held out his hand, and Syaoran smacked it in a low high-five.

Syaoran wiggled his eyebrows. "You can ride in a car like that if you come." Sakura nodded vigorously, and ran off like a little child to the car, waving goodbye to Tomoyo, Meiling Eriol and Takashi. Syaoran was right behind her, unlocking the doors from his remote starter, then got in the drivers seat. It was even better in the inside, Sakura decided. It didn't have new car smell, but it didn't stink. Instead, it smelt like Honey Melon. Yup, it smelt like honey melon.

As soon as he was out of the parking lot, he stepped on the gas, startling Sakura. "HOEE! You crazy wolf! What's wrong with you?"

"Crazy Wolf? Okay, I like that nickname." he told her, then turned the corner sharply.

"I could think of a lot more but I'd go to Hell if I said them all!" Sakura exclaimed, gasping the sides of the seat. Syaoran gradually slowed from 100 to 75, and then patted Sakura's shoulder. "You would not last a minute in my family. My sisters and even my mother like to drive fast. I think the butler does too."

Sakura groaned and leaned back into her seat, relaxing. Syaoran reached over and pressed a few things on the stereo, then reached down to an iPod that was hooked with a wire from his stereo, and pressed play. A song immediately came on, bass bumping behind Sakura. She recognized the song; it was a Korean song by her favourite boy band, Big Bang. It was titled Last Greeting, or Last Farewell.

"I love this song!" she squealed. Syaoran laughed, but said nothing, and sped along what seemed like an endless wall.

"Hey, Honey Melon loving Wolf, what is this darn wall? It seems like we've been driving along it for like five minutes." Sakura asked, looking at the carefully built, castle-protective like stone wall.

"…it's my fence." Syaoran plucked the words out of his head carefully.

"FENCE?!"

Syaoran slowed down as he turned the corner and neared a large black gate, where two guards stood. One, outside, and the other standing up in a small tower which controlled the gate. Syaoran waved at the them, and the gate automatically opened for them. Syaoran sped down a big pathway, which was shaded by large trees and rows of lavish cherry blossom trees. Was this his _lawn_?! It was more like a castle courtyard. Sakura could see deeper into his lawn there was a large fountain, a single, white path connecting to it that lead back to the house. Sun peeked through the cracks between the trees and leaves, giving his, err, lawn, an ethereal glow, like one touch would shatter it all. Then, the car - finally - approached what seemed like his… house.

House was so not the word. It was practically a small castle! The house oozed elegance. It was a Spanish-Style mansion, with a red tiled roof. In some places, the walls were floor to roof glass, and in other places, it was made of beautiful slate-gray stone. On the far left side of the house, the stone walls went higher and higher, then a stone roof with no walls stood, held up by large stone columns. Syaoran steered the car under that, where other cars were parked, and from what Sakura saw, Syaoran was right about his family being car addicts. She spotted a yellow Porsche, a gray eclipse, among other sports cars.

Syaoran killed the engine, then opened the door, stepping out onto the driveway. Sakura did the same. The sudden burst of heat stunned her for a moment, the car's air conditioning was great. She followed him through a big archway, and down his sidewalk into his back yard. In his back yard, there was a pool, surrounded by lovely pink and white tiles, a few lawn chairs nearby. He led her to the backyards' door - wide, French glass doors. It was unlocked.

He pushed the doors open, and it seemed the inside was no comparison to the outside. The fresh scent of rain and cherry blossoms entered Sakura's nose. The roof was high, the walls all painted a pale yellow color, and in some rooms, cherry blossom patterns on it. He lead her to a flight of stairs, and she skipped up them after him. Syaoran led her to a dark, forest green coloured room.

"Well, welcome to my house." he said, proceeding past another set of glass doors that led to a conjoining room that was his washroom. He came out a second later with an Adidas bag and set it on his large, king-sized bed. He then walked over to a stereo and pressed play on it, a soft Chinese song coming on. It was light and airy, like a God produced it.

"House? This place is a castle…" Sakura replied, still entranced by the house. Syaoran smirked, then pulled out a towel and a pair of green and black swim shorts to stuff into his bag. Sakura noticed his black cell phone on the bed, and grabbed it. Sneakily, she called her cell phone from it - in which she received his number. She added her phone number into his phone too.

"I added my number into your phone." she told him.

Syaoran paused warily and raised an eyebrow. Then he laughed. "Just to get my number, eh?"

"Xiao Lang? Why didn't you tell me you were home?"

At the entrance of his door stood the most elegant lady Sakura had ever seen. She was tall and pale, her black hair piled on top of her head in an elaborate style, wearing tradition Chinese Robes. Suddenly, Syaoran went rigid, standing straight and like stone. "Mother," he greeted with a bow

"Who is your friend, Xiao Lang?" she asked. Her voice was firm and commanding, yet gentle and soft.

"Mother, this is Kinomoto Sakura. Sakura, this is my mother, Li Yelan." Syaoran said, introducing the two. Sakura bowed with a smile, her silky auburn hair falling over her face.

"It's an honour to meet you, Li-sama." Sakura said simply, then stood up straight. Yelan took small, elegant steps towards Sakura, then stopped in front of her. Syaoran's mom raised a long, pale hand, and placed it on Sakura's cheek.

"Likewise," Yelan told her. She slowly moved her index finger to Sakura's chin, then tilted it back. "…you're very beautiful." Sakura blushed a new shade of pink, then noticed the way Yelan's mouth twitched.

"Xiao Lang, turn off that music!" she said, her voice rising just a decibel.

Syaoran glared for a moment at his mother. "Why, Mother? You don't like the way I sing?"

__

This is him singing?

Sakura gasped at the thought. _His voice is so… beautiful. _

"That is not it, Xiao Lang. You're an exceptional singer, but you won't _be _a singer. You are destined to not only take over the Li Corporation but the Li Clan as well!"

"What if I don't want to?" Syaoran replied calmly. Yelan's expression turned sour, and she motioned him to follow her out of the room. He did so, and left Sakura by herself in his lovely green room. She searched her memory of the three years of Chinese she took in high school. "Little Wolf," she said to herself. "His name means Little Wolf." Coincidental, as she'd been calling him a wolf. From the other room, she began to hear risen words. The loudest things she head had been, 'disgrace' and 'family honour', and 'you must'.

Sakura felt a twinge of guilt for Syaoran. He was still so young, and he had to deal with the burden of such a large responsibility already.

__

"Bei ji xing de yan lei ni ku hong de shuang yan

Bei ling shi de nuo yan yan mo zai xin li mian

Wo tai tou kan zhe ai bu jian…"

sang Syaoran's beautiful voice from the stereo. Sakura struggled to make out the words. Her three years of Chinese had helped though, as she realized what he was saying.

Sakura recalled what Kyo had said in class, about Syaoran being a songwriter. She realized that Syaoran Li - rich and seemingly egotistical, perhaps had a deeper side. Within a minute, Syaoran came back in, his steps light - they made no noise whatsoever. His face had paled a bit, but he seemed fine.

"Li-san… are you ok?" Sakura asked, getting up to her feet. He walked past her and to the stereo, and angrily shut it off.

"W-why did you turn it off? I like that song," Sakura told him. "_Wo tai tou kan zhe ai bu jian!" _she sang to him.

For a minute, Syaoran didn't say anything. He looked down at the floor, his chocolate brown hair falling into his eyes. Then, he looked up a smiled.

"Your accent is terrible."

Sakura blinked. "Hoee! No it's not! My teacher told me I had one of the best accents in the class."

"Well he lied. Do you have Mandarin Studies with Yang-san tomorrow?" Syaoran asked, resuming his packing for the beach.

"Yup. I take it you do too?"

Syaoran nodded, then pulled the strings closed on his bag. He took a seat on his bed and was silent, and he looked disturbed. Sakura could sense that what his mother said to him was what was bothering him. She approached him slowly, and placed her hands on his shoulders. "What you're facing are responsibilities for someone not your age," she said with a sigh. "Are you okay, Syaoran?"

He nodded, and stood up. "Don't worry. Let's just get going."

Sakura followed him numbly out of the house, and then sped out of the Li Mansion grounds, and towards the beach in silence.

* * *

They had all stayed at the beach for a good four hours. Syaoran's mood had picked up about the time they started to set up a net for volleyball. That was definitely Sakura's sport - volleyball. She kicked Syaoran's team - him, Eriol, Tomoyo and Chiharu against Sakura, Takashi, Rika, and Meiling (Naoko insisted in sitting out) - in the butt, definitely. Syaoran had been introduced to all of Sakura's friends and vice versa - it helped that he was already friends with Eriol, and was becoming fast friends with Takashi.

Sakura had slipped a black t-shirt over her pink and white bikini, jeans, and slipped on some sandals. She hadn't swam today, and it was still bright - but she needed to head home.

"I have to go, guys, I have Chinese tomorrow." she told everyone, shoving her cell phone into her pocket, then picked up her bag. Syaoran was pulling on his white t-shirt.

"I'll drive you." he called. "I have that same class tomorrow."

Sakura nodded and waited for Syaoran to grab his stuff. In the bright sun, he looked more like a God than ever. His chocolate brown hair shone in the sunlight, his eyes sparkling with seriousness. Tomoyo, Meiling and Eriol inched themselves over to Sakura quietly.

"Soooo, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo started, with a mischievous smile. "What happened with Li-san?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Nothing!" she exclaimed with a large exhale.

"Come on, Sakura…" Eriol said seriously. "If anything happened, you would tell us wouldn't you?"

"Of course, of course…" Sakura agreed.

"Exactly, so something should have happened? Are you saying he drove you, and then brought you here, and that's all? You've to be kidding!" Meiling exclaimed, waving her arms as an extra effect. Sakura giggled - it was cute, the way her hair, held up in two buns with the excess hair (which was a lot) hanging down, was wiggling. Syaoran walked over. Saved by the Wolf.

"Ready to go?" he asked her. Sakura nodded then waved goodbye to her friends, then skipped off to his sexy car again.

Syaoran revved the engine, then sped off. He switched on his music again, this time an American song coming on. Sakura recognized it - she loved American songs, and she could speak English.

"I see ya baby, throw ya hands up high, if you wanna come and kick it with a stand up guy. Because the rocks go glisten and the drops on 20's, bend it over let it drop if you wanna roll wit me." Sakura sang along.

"So you can speak Japanese, English and Mandarin? I'm impressed." Syaoran told her, taking a turn.

Sakura nodded with a smile, then told him where to turn. "Meiling helped me a lot with Mandarin, she's so good at it. And my Dad enrolled me at English School from grade seven to twelve." He pulled up to her house and Sakura turned to him. "Thanks for the ride," she told him. "Thanks a lot."

Syaoran smirked. "You know, you called me Syaoran today." Sakura's face turned red, then pink, then pale.

"You called me Sakura in front of your mom!"

"Don't worry about it, Strawberry Girl. You can call me that if you want, if I can call you Sakura. Not that I would, since I like Strawberry Girl better."

She turned red again. Flushing, she glared at him. "S-Stupid Wolf!!" she yelled, then opened the door and shut it. She could still hear him laugh from inside the car. He stopped, the smiled, and sped off.

Sakura skipped up the steps to her house, and the door was open. She pushed it open to see Toya there, studying. "Where were you?" he asked uninterestedly.

"The beach." she replied, kicking off her sandals and slipping her feet into slippers.

"…where's your stuff?"

"OH SHIT!" Sakura exclaimed. Groaning, she climbed up to her room, passing paintings and pictures of her mother as a model, and collapsed on the bed. "THAT STUPID WOLF!"

Kero whined in agreement.

It was about ten o'clock, and Syaoran had just gotten out of the shower. He quickly changed, then picked up Sakura's black and pink messenger bag and smirked. _Silly Strawberry. _

Then, his phone started ringing. He didn't bother to check to caller ID, and flipped it open lazily.

"Wei?" he answered in Chinese.

"Wei?" asked someone on the other line. Her voice was soft and silky. "I believe in Japan, it's 'Moshi Moshi'."

"Strawberry Girl," he smiled, even though she couldn't see it. Syaoran took a seat on his bed, shaking his wet hair like a puppy. "What would you like."

"You Stupid Wolf!"

"Stupid?" Syaoran faked a hurt tone. "I believe you're thinking of Little Wolf, like my name. But if you call me Little, I'll kill you."

"No, I mean stupid! I forgot my bag in your car and you didn't stop to give it back!"

Syaoran smirked. "Well, I figured since you stole my phone number, stealing your bag would ensure a call-back."

Sakura giggled. "Well, I didn't realize I was so important to you."

"Well why would you think that," Syaoran asked. "Maybe I just like getting into your life and making it hard for you, like 'stealing' your bag."

Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, can you bring it for me in Chinese tomorrow? I have my Chinese textbook in that bag."

"No problem." Syaoran said. "See you tomorrow, Strawberry Girl."

"See you tomorrow, you _Stupid Wolf._"

* * *

__

Preview of Chapter 3:

"Now I really think you're stalking me." Sakura said, her pink and white kimono shining from the light of the lanterns.

"Just because I happen to come to the same festival with Eriol and then we run into you guys doesn't mean I'm stalking you." Syaoran smirked. "You wish I put that much effort into it."

"Well, you did steal my bag just to make me call you."

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "You forgetting your bag in my car was your fault. I didn't realize I had it until I got home."

"You really are a Stupid Wolf."

**Here's chapter two. I wrote this the day after I wrote and posted up chapter one… you must see how excited I am. This chapter turned out incredibly long! More than 5000 words, which is really something for me because my chapters for other stories are usually only 2500 - 3000 words. I'm so excited, I love this story, so you'll see frequent updates. As you can tell, the romance heats up in chapter three, and they will become closer, and closer.But just you wait. This is a DRAMA. Like the kind on TV. I'm not talking about to O.C., I'm talking about like… Smiling Pasta, and One Litre of Tear type dramas. Hehe, keep tuned in and keep reviewing. Something's gonna happen, of course… **

**Oh yes, and about Meiling. Yes, her name is Meiling Yang. I needed to make her Chinese without being a Li, or related to Syaoran. They were family friends, allies back in feudal times, and their parents are friends. So they're sort of like cousins, but not. Click the blue review button! It'll make me update faster ; )**

"You're a Stupid Strawberry!"

A few bangs in the distance interrupted their playful squabble. The fireworks had gone off, it's lights flashing before Sakura's eyes. Slowly, she turned to Syaoran, who was staring directly into her emerald coloured eyes. And suddenly, he couldn't stop himself from leaning down…

* * *


	3. Survival! Chilly Breath

* * *

**H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts**  
Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

* * *

**Summary:** Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop. Now meet Syaoran; the new guy at Tomoeda Uni. Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea…  
**Notes:** AU, no magic stuff. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling.  
_**Ages:** Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 21. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.  
**Chapter 3 Disclaimer:** I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or it's characters, they belong to CLAMP. I also do not own the brand DIESEL, ADIDAS, CHAMPION or ARMANI EXCHANGE. Hah, I WISH! I also do not own GOLD LABEL RECORDS. This is major. I do not, in any way, own Gold Label Records or any of its affiliates. Gold Label Records is owned by Paco Wong.  
**Authors Note:** _Okay guys, I'm back with Chapter 3. I'm pleased with the feedback! I didn't expect people to like this story that much. Tell you friends about it, I want this story to beat my other one, Rejuvenation. _

* * *

**Chapter 3: Chilly Breath**

For some peculiar reason, Sakura didn't wake up late at all today. Which was ridiculous; she woke up late almost everyday. Her class today was at 4pm, which meant she should have woken up at 3:45pm. Instead, she woke up at 12pm. She had more than enough time to shower, dress, and dry her hair and pull it into a messy ponytail. Sakura took one look in the mirror, then made a face. She needed to change.

This was stupid. When did she get so girly?

She stripped off her original outfit - jeans and a sweater, and gazed into her closet for more. It was going to be warm, at least 24 degrees Celsius. But that was the thing with the weather. It would be blazing hot all day long, and then during the night it would drop like nothing. _Whatever, _Sakura thought. _No time to think about that._

Sakura decided on a tight black t-shirt with the words Diesel written across her chest in red letters. It was her favourite. She paired some black Champion track pants with it, and slipped on her white Adidas. She took one last look in the mirror with a smile - then nodded with a triumphant smile. She made a move to grab her bag from it's usual spot, but then stopped. The Stupid Wolf had it. So instead, she grabbed her cell phone, shoved it into her track pants' pocket, and skipped down the stairs and towards the kitchen. She went to the refrigerator, fully intending on grabbing some O.J., but instead found herself staring at a note, written in her father's elegant script.

__

Sakura,  
I'm sorry I had to leave without telling you, but I've been called to Hong Kong to do some lectures. I had to leave in the middle of the night, sorry. I'll be back in one week. I called Toya and asked if he could stay with you, but he's out of town right now with Yukito-san. They've gone to Tokyo for some special university course. I'm sorry, Sakura. I left some money on the kitchen counter to pay for groceries for the week.  
With Love,  
Dad

Sakura sighed. She took a look on the kitchen table, and just as her father said, he'd left one hundred and twenty dollars to get groceries. Sighing again, she decided against eating breakfast today.

It was always like this. She was always alone.

At that same moment, the jingling of Kero's collar was heard. He jumped down from the third step up the stairs, and ran to Sakura, his tail wagging.

"Morning, Kero-chan!" she exclaimed. She wasn't alone. Picking up the miniature dog, she placed a feather kiss on his nose, then set him down. "I have to go to school now, Kero-chan. You'll be fine at home, right?"

He gave her a blank look.

"Uhhh… okaaaay." she said, then left. She pulled open the door - and nearly screamed. To her surprise, there stood Li Syaoran, his chocolate hair wild and eyes surprised. Then, he softened and chuckled.

"Good timing." he chuckled.

Sakura raised a fine auburn brow. "What are you doing here?"

Syaoran raised his right hand to show off a while, black, and pink bag. "Like my purse?" he asked with a sly smile.

"It's a bag, not a purse," the right corner of her mouth raised into a playful smirk.

Throwing his hands up, he rolled his eyes. "Please. It's the same thing."

"Barely."

"Well, since I'm here, and we have the same class, and you have no means of self-transportation, do you want a ride to school?" Syaoran asked her, gesturing to his beautiful black car.

Sakura thought about this, then gave him a playful grin. "Whaaat if I said no?"

"Well then," Syaoran replied. "I would say, 'too bad, get in the car'."

"Geez, Wolfie, you could have just asked instead of commanding me to get in." Sakura smirked. She snatched her bag from him with a quick thank-you. "Well, let's get going." she skipped down her steps like she'd done a million times, and then ran to his car in excitement.

Syaoran stared at her retreating back with a blank look. Then, he laughed, and followed the excited auburn haired cherry-blossom.

If Sakura's father would have driven, it would've taken them a good twenty minutes to get to her university. Thanks to Syaoran's crazy fast, insane driving, they were there in half that time. She shakily pushed open the door and leaned against the car for a minute. "Y-you Stupid Wolf! You must have gotten millions of tickets already!"

Syaoran shook his head and started for the Chinese Class. "Not even. I haven't gotten even one."

"It must be because you're famous!" she countered.

"I'm not famous," Syaoran rolled his eyes. "I'm just a good driver like that."

"GOOD?" Sakura asked, astonished. "If that's good, then I FAIL as a driver."

Sakura quickened her pace so she was side by side with Syaoran as they walked to their class. "You have your licence?" Syaoran asked, shooting her a quick look from the side.

"Yes, of course. I just… have no car."

Syaoran let out a hoot. "Then what's the point of having a license?"

She punched him lightly from the side. "I dunno. Just shh."

Glancing at his cell phone, Syaoran let out a little growl. Unexpectedly, he grabbed Sakura's light, soft hand and pulled her as he broke into a little jog. "We're going to be late unless we run, right now." Sakura blushed - his hand was so big but somehow it fit him, and it was unusually soft. She jogged with him.

"H-how could we be late? You drive like a maniac!" she called, truly confused.

Syaoran shrugged, and continued to jog to the classroom, not once letting go of Sakura's hand. They gradually picked up sped, racing through the courtyard. Their feet pattered through the halls, and they finally arrived at their classroom, not late.

Syaoran and Sakura peeked their heads through the door, and Meiling sat next to two empty spots. "HEY GUYS!" Meiling exclaimed happily. Syaoran dropped Sakura's hand gently, then allowed her to go in first.

"Hey, Meiling," Sakura greeted with a smile. She took a seat next to Meiling, and Syaoran sat on her left.

"Ko - ni - chi - waaaah!" she plucked out the syllables of 'konichiwa'.

Sakura flinched. "Meiling, that had a terrible accent on it."

Meiling cackled. "IT'S OKAY, IT'S CHINESE CLASS!"

Syaoran smirked. "Guess we're not late," he said, resting his chin on his hand.

"Not at all, we've a good two minutes." Meiling told him with a confused look. "I heard you guys running down the hall, did you think you were late?"

"Wolfie, here told me we were…" Sakura mumbled, eyeing him suspiciously. Syaoran rolled his eyes around, not in the 'he rolled his eyes' kind of way, but in away where he was nervous about something. "Well…?"

"…I guess my cell phone is wrong." he finished lamely.

Meiling raised her eyebrow. "Oh well. Are you guys going to the Kyuuka Shoumi Festival?" she asked rather brightly.

"The Summer Appreciation Festival?" Sakura asked. "Of course. Every year."

"Yes!" Meiling cheered. "Now everyone is going!" she clapped her hands together, then stopped.

"Unless," she eyed Syaoran, "You aren't going to come?"

Syaoran shook his head. "No, I'll come. What kind of festival is it?"

"Well, we dress up in kimonos. The festival is all lit up with beautiful lanterns, and there are games. Traditional Japanese games, like the hook into the water balloon. There are fireworks every hour, too. You HAVE to come!"

Meiling's enthusiasm got Sakura excited, but anxious. Would Syaoran come? Slowly, Syaoran nodded his head. "Alright. I'll meet up with Eriol after class and I'll get some clothes from him."

Bells went off in Sakura's head. _Yeeees! _Sakura's head exclaimed. _Under the fireworks with Syaoran… _

At that moment, a beautiful, rather young looking teacher with long, inky black hair walked, no, floated, into the classroom. "Ni hao," she spoke softly. "Welcome to the first class for Mandarin Studies. "Wo jiào Yang Suyin. Wo shì cóng Hong Kong lái de. Qing zuò, shàng kè shí jiān dào le. Now, can anyone tell me what I just said?"

No one raised their hands, and Suyin Yang sighed. "Come on, guys," she said. "It's not hard. This is basic."

When no one, again, raised their hand, she took out her class sheet. "Alright, if that's how you're all going to be," she laughed softly. "Li Syaoran."

"Hello. My name is Yang Suyin. I'm from Hong Kong. Sit down please, it's time for class." he repeated lamely. Suyin Yang clapped her hands together with a tight smile.

"Yes! Good job!" she said excitedly. "Mr. Li, are you from China?" she asked. Syaoran nodded.

"Okay, tell us your full name, and where you're from. In Mandarin."

"But," Syaoran started. "Then I'd be saying the same thing you did."

Suyin Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, I want to hear your accent."

"Wo jiào Li Xiao Lang, yào bu rán Li Syaoran. Jiù jiào wo shāng mu bā Li. Wo shì cóng Hong Kong lái de." He said, pronouncing each word perfectly.

"Very good, Li Xiao Lang! Excellent," the teacher beamed. "Alright. Hmm… Kinomoto Sakura. Please translate what Li Xiao Lang just said."

Sakura fidgeted in her seat. "My name is Li Xiao Lang, or Li Syaoran. Just call me Li. I'm from Hong Kong."

Again, Suyin Yang beamed. "Yes! Good job! Alright, Sakura, do you know what Xiao Lang means?"

"Xiao Lang?" she asked. Syaoran and a few other Chinese students snickered at her accent. "It means Little Wolf."

"Correct. Alright class, let's start with sentence structure…" she started, walking over to the chalk board.

Syaoran was still snickering. From her seat, Sakura kicked him. "Don't laugh! It shouldn't be Xiao Lang, it should be Yú bèn Lang!" (Stupid Wolf)

"Hoee! That was embarrassing! Why did you laugh at me?!" Sakura exclaimed, shaking her head.

Syaoran smirked. "Because it was funny. You're very knowledgeable in Mandarin but your accent is so… horrible."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I didn't think Sakura-chan did that bad," Meiling put in, walking side by side with them. "But we have to go, Syaoran. Maybe we'll meet up with you at the Kyuuka Shoumi Festival." Meiling took Sakura's hand and ran off towards Meiling's car, leaving a gaping Syaoran. "Maybe? What do you mean maybe?" he called after them.

Sakura opened the door of Meiling's Vanquish. It was yet another, gorgeous black car, sleek and clean. Meiling's family - the Yang's - were rich. Not as rich as the Li family, but the Yang's owned Gold Label Records, a company currently reigning in the Hong Kong music and movie industry. Meiling twisted the key and started the car, then started down the street.

She wasn't an insane driver like Syaoran, and for that, Sakura was thankful.

"Sooo," Meiling said with an obvious tone. "How are you and Syaoran?"

Sakura shifted her eyes between Meiling and the stores whizzing past. "What do you mean?"

She wiggled her eyebrows. "You know what I mean." Sakura rolled her eyes and this, and waved Meiling away like a mosquito.

"Obviously there's nothing. I've known him for what, two days?" Sakura replied sheepishly, taking two fingers and running it through her silky auburn hair, lightened by the bright sun.

"Lots of things can happen in two days, though!" Meiling countered with a wink. Sakura shook her head at Meiling's enthusiasm and chuckled. Meiling suddenly pushed her foot down on the pedal, and sped past the other cars.

OH MY GOD. Sakura exclaimed mentally. WHY ARE ALL MY FRIENDS INSANE DRIVERS?!

"Meiling-chan! PLEASE, slow down!" Sakura gaped, gripping the sides of the leather seats. Meiling cackled as she slammed the breaks, nearly giving Sakura a heart attack. Sakura exhaled loudly, then looked out the side - they were in front of the gate Tomoyo's mansion. Meiling lifted up her red t-shirt clad arm and waved at the video camera that was perched above the gate. A few moments after, the gate opened.

Tomoyo's mansion was not nearly as big as the Li's… castle. But it was very, very big. It was a simple, white mansion with a red tiled roof. Meiling laughed evilly from beside Sakura. "Hilarious, mwuahaha!" she pushed down the gas pedal again and steered down pathway to the mansion, then parked outside. She killed the engine, then skipped up the steps, where Tomoyo stood with a maniacal grin.

"Hey Tomoyo-chan," Sakura smiled. "What's up?"

"NO IDLE CHIT-CHAT!" Tomoyo cried. "It's time to prepare Sakura for the Festival!"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably as she saw Meiling's equally as maniacal grin as Tomoyo. They had planned this. "Awww… guys…" Tomoyo seized Sakura's hands and pulled her inside, with extra help from Meiling who pushed her from behind.

They had made it almost the whole way through the mansion (Tomoyo's room was on the opposite side), when a tall, gorgeous lady stopped them. She had a warm smile and looked stunning with her asymmetrical haircut. "Sakura-chan!" she exclaimed. She half ran to her and leaned down to give her a hug. "It's great to see you!"

"Hi, Daidouji-san!" Sakura replied with a wide grin. Sonomi Daidouji was Tomoyo's mom - and the owner of a toy company. Sonomi took a step back. She smiled graciously at Meiling.

"It's splendid to see you, too, Meiling-chan," Sonomi said, pulling Meiling into a hug as well. "Are you three preparing for the festival?"

Tomoyo nodded. "It's only an hour 'till the festival, and we need to get ready."

"Alright, tell me when you're all ready to go and we'll go together." with a nod, Sonomi walked off. The three turned the corner and entered a large room, painted a light shade of violet. It was clean to perfection - the maids had done a good job with Tomoyo's room.

"OKAY, MEILING-CHAN," Tomoyo chirped loudly. "LET'S GET TO IT." Meiling clapped her hands together happily as Tomoyo went to fetch a hanger with a cover covering the clothing, and Meiling helped Sakura out of her clothes, leaving her in the bra and panties. Tomoyo handed her a pink robe, and sat her down in front of Tomoyo's vanity - complete with a mirror the size of a picture window.

"Hmm," Meiling clucked. "What to do with you."

Tomoyo pulled the hair tie out of Sakura's hair, the auburn strands falling out to her mid back. "Time to do this." she whispered.

"Is this it? Alright, where is the kimono?" Sakura put in quickly, hoping to get out of wearing make-up after Tomoyo was done.

"Nuh uh uh," Meiling shook her head. "Just a little make up. You don't need most of it, since you're so damn pretty, but let's put a little on." Tomoyo nodded in agreement, and Sakura sighed.

She stared lamely at the far wall as they turned the chair away from the mirror. Tomoyo expertly applied white eye shadow on her lids, blending it with a soft pink in the corner. She then slicked on mascara, seeing no reason for eyeliner when Sakura's eyes were perfect already. Meiling brushed a sheer powder on her cheeks and slid on some pink lip gloss.

Together, the evil ladies stared at their creation in awe.

"We…" Tomoyo started.

"Are good." Meiling finished. Tomoyo squealed.

"Ohohohoho! Alright, Sakura-chan, go get changed."

Sakura turned to look the mirror, but was stopped by Meiling. "Not until you change into the kimono." she explained. Sakura nodded then grabbed the kimono.

When Sakura came out, Meiling and Tomoyo had already changed and were ready. Meiling was clad in an elegant red and black kimono with a Chinese twist on it. The robes itself were red with swirling black designs on it, and on her collar was a dragon. The obi was black - and tied with the ends flowing, just as a Maiko would. Her hair was pulled into it's usual buns. Tomoyo wore a violet and silver kimono, the robes a pale purple, with silver flowers in the bottom corner. Her waist length violet-black hair was pulled into a messy pile on the back of her head, and she wore no make up besides lip gloss.

"I-I'm done," Sakura called to them. "What do you think?"

Meiling and Tomoyo turned to her, their expression shocked. "Oh my god," Tomoyo gaped. "KAWAAAAIII!"

Meiling nodded in agreement, unable to speak. Sakura shrugged and turned to the mirror, and she herself froze. Sakura had never seen herself look so good. Her eyes shimmered white, skin perfect and pale with a slight natural blush. Her hair was long and straight, but Tomoyo had ran wax through it to give it a slight messy yet beautiful appearance.

It was her kimono, though, that had her gasping. It was a pale pink color, with even paler pink cherry blossoms in the corners and in the left collar. On the other collar, in white, was the outline of a cherry blossom petal. Her obi was a silver colour, tied the same as Meiling. Her glossed lips pulled up into a smile as she ran to Tomoyo and Meiling, wrapping her arms around them. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

"Time to go, Girls," Sonomi said from the doorway. She stopped. "Sakura-chan, you look magnificent! Meiling-chan, you look so elegant! And Tomoyo - you look like a princess!" Sonomi never looked prouder than she did then. "Okay, time to go!"

Sakura made a half-turn to gaze out the window. It was dark, and there was already glowing outside from the festival, which was a few blocks away, and the moon. Meiling, Tomoyo, and Sakura followed happily, chattering about just how fun it was going to be.

* * *

The festival was already packed, people walking through the narrow paths with stands all over. Lanterns hung high above them, music played by a samisen lightly in the background. "This is so beautiful," Sakura murmured."Iee!" Tomoyo squealed. "This is going to be so fun!" Meiling bobbed her head enthusiastically. The three girls, together, played games and ate the delicious festival food. They briefly saw Chiharu and Takashi - she was strangling him, and he was telling a lie.

They'd decided to take a break, and as they rested against a cherry blossom tree, Sakura thought to herself, I wonder where that Wolf is. She had grown anxious waiting and waiting for him to show up.

"This is so fun," Meiling slurped her drink. "After this, let's go play that game with the hook in the balloon."

"Noo, let's go play that other one, where we can win that big teddy bear!" Tomoyo argued. Sakura listened numbly as she thought about the Wolf.

As if on cue, Syaoran tapped Sakura's back gently, as she turned gracefully to him, her pink kimono swishing with her enchantingly. He stood there, tall and nearly perfect, dressed in a dark green kimono.

She was sure she stared at him for more than a minute. "H-hey," she greeted. "Good timing."

"You look beautiful."

Sakura flushed, then looked around to find Tomoyo and Meiling gone. Those two… she mentally swore.

"Thanks!" she replied brightly. "You're not looking to bad, yourself."

Syaoran snorted. "Not too bad." He scoffed. Then he looked around. "Wei! Where'd Eriol and Takashi go…?"

It was Sakura's turn to snort. Mentally, at least. Why do I feel like this was planned.

"Now I really think you're stalking me." Sakura said, her pink and white kimono shining from the light of the lanterns.

"Just because I happen to come to the same festival with Eriol and then we run into you guys doesn't mean I'm stalking you." Syaoran smirked. "You wish I put that much effort into it."

"Well, you did steal my bag just to make me call you."

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "You forgetting your bag in my car was your fault. I didn't realize I had it until I got home."

"You really are a Stupid Wolf."

"You're a Stupid Strawberry!"

A few bangs in the distance interrupted their playful squabble. The first fireworks had gone off, it's lights flashing before Sakura's eyes. Slowly, she turned to Syaoran, who was staring directly into her emerald coloured eyes. And suddenly, he couldn't stop himself from leaning down…

…straight into the ground. Sakura let out a yelp as someone crashed into the side of her knees, causing her to crumple to the ground. "WAH!" she yelped loudly.

A small head of black hair was in Sakura's stomach. She looked up with innocent, 5 year old eyes. "I'm sorry! It was an accidentable!"

Sakura's surprised eyes turned into smiling, gentle eyes as she patted her head. "It's okay, don't worry."

Syaoran helped the little girl and Sakura up. An older woman with greyed hair and tired eyes turned the corner and broke into a run once she spotted Syaoran, Sakura, and the little girl. She nearly dove at the young girl and picked her up, swinging her around. "Kasumi," she cooed. "Don't run off again!" She paused a minute to look at Syaoran and Sakura. "Thank you for finding Kasumi." she nodded, then took off.

Smiling, Sakura waved, but Syaoran growled. That old lady did NOT just interrupt that almost-kiss… Sighing, Syaoran looked around. "Let's go find the others." he said, turning towards the center of the festival. Sakura nodded, and started to walk, but something pulled her back. A hand, holding hers. Syaoran's.

"W-what is it?" she asked gently. Syaoran shook his head, then led her to the centre of the festival.

Her grin became wider as she followed, Syaoran's warm hand holding hers. This festival just got better.( Ugh, sorry I couldn't write more about the festival, but this chapter is already becoming too long and I still have so much more to write. It's also 5 in the morning, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Sorry, but I'm sure the next few parts of this chapter will satisfy you. )

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Groggily, Sakura adjusted to her surroundings. She looked around and found herself in Tomoyo's violet room, in Tomoyo's bed. She remembered - she decided to sleep over since no one was home and the gang was planning on coming over today to watch movies anyway. Meiling had drove her to grab Kero, first, and Kero was sleeping soundly on the bed, next to her. Tomoyo was not on the other side of the sound-asleep dog, so Sakura figured she was already up.

She gazed at the clock. Oh no, it's 3 already? The gang is coming in half an hour. How could I wake up so late?!

Then she remembered. Tomoyo had kept her up until 4am last night, talking about girl stuff. Most of it was about Syaoran.

Slowly, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and got out of bed. The door swung open, and there stood a showered and dressed Tomoyo.

"Morning, Sakura-chan. You'd better get ready now. Everyone will be here soon." she greeted with her usual sunny smile. Sakura nodded and walked slowly and lazily into the shower.

Sakura finished just on time. Just as she pulled on her black track pants from the other day, the gang arrived, Takashi waving a rented movie in his hand. They were going to hang out in Tomoyo's room the whole day - it helped she had a home theatre in her room.

"Hey, what movie did you guys rent?" Sakura asked passively, collapsing tiredly into a comfortable couch in Tomoyo's room. She tired shaking herself awake; how could she be so tired when she woke up so late?

"Hostel 2," Meiling replied. "Blood, gore, you know."

Tomoyo made a face. "Aw, no, gross! Hostel 1 was already bad enough!" Eriol laughed evilly.

"It was his idea," Rika explained sheepishly, gesturing to the cackling Eriol. "Yell at him."

Syaoran made his way over to the couch and took a seat next to Sakura silently. Eriol and Tomoyo exchanged one look - just one - and they had made an unspoken plan.

"Oh no," Tomoyo exclaimed. "I forgot to tell you we're out of snacks. Sakura ate them all yesterday." she giggled.

"We didn't bring any," Eriol said. "But someone should go get some."

An ominous rumble was heard in the distance, but no one paid any mind. "I vote Sakura. She needs to wake up." Chiharu piped in with a knowing smile. Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"Aw, drats," Takashi grinned. "She has no car!"

"Alright, then Syaoran's driving. Bye guys, get some popcorn and chips and pizza." Eriol said quickly, then pushed the two out of the room, making sure to toss out Sakura's bag, too.

"What the heck!" Sakura exclaimed, Tomoyo's white door being shut in her face. "Guys!"

Syaoran shook his head. "Oh, whatever. Let's just go get some food. Where's the nearest convenience store?"

Sakura though about this. "A block away from my house. Let's go, then…"

Sakura pushed the cherry oak door open and she saw that it was raining lightly. Three cars were parked out front; Syaoran's Gallardo, Takashi's SUV, and Eriol's simple sedan. They must have carpooled. Sakura thought. Sakura and Syaoran made their way over to the Gallardo, and Sakura took her usual seat beside him, which felt, already, like it was meant to be. It felt like she had carved her butt into the seat - she wondered if he ever gave rides to anyone else.

Most of the ride was in silence. Sakura so desperately wanted to ask him yesterday - about the almost kiss - but she stopped herself. It would just make things awkward. Syaoran reached over to switch on his iPod, letting an unrecognizable song come on.

Thunder rumbled harder and more frequent than earlier. Sakura spotted lightning flashing in the distance too. Syaoran's windshield wipers couldn't work fast enough for Syaoran to keep his eyes on the road - then, a little noise then pop.

"FUCK," Syaoran cussed out loud. He slowed the speed of the car, which for once, was not that fast, and steered to the side of the road. Sakura looked at him questioningly. "Flat tire…"

Sakura sighed. Just their luck. "What do we do now?" she asked him, rubbing her bare arms. The dark clouds made it seem like it was night already, and it felt cold.

"We can't stay here. Do you have your keys with you?" he asked her. He tried looking out the windows, but it was helpless. The rain was coming down so heavily he couldn't see out the window. The thunder was hammering outside, and the only light in the darkness of the… day, was the lightning flashing. Sakura nodded.

"Alright, then lets go to your house and take shelter. It's not safe out here." Syaoran sighed, running his hand through his messy hair.

"Okay." Sakura agreed. They both pushed the doors open and were immediately beginning to become soaked. Syaoran hurried over to Sakura's side of the car, and stripped off his jacket, shelter both their heads with it. Pulling her arm, he lead her over to her house, the rain pouring off the jacket like a waterfall.

They couldn't have gotten their sooner enough. Sakura fumbled with her keys, but managed to push it through the lock, twist it, and push the door open. "Finally!" Sakura gasped. "It's raining like mad out there!"

Syaoran nodded, shaking the water out of his jacket, then hanging it up in the closet. Sakura kicked off her shoes, and made her way through her house, switching on the lights. "Do you want something to drink?" she asked him, pausing at the kitchen for a moment.

"Nah." Syaoran shook his head, then made his way up the stairs, Sakura following.

The loudest crash of lightning was heard, and then they were consumed in darkness. Sakura let out a little scream. No! This is just like the scary stories! I'm going to die! There's a ghost in here!

Whimpering, she clutched the wall and clung to it like a mother to her baby.

"Sakura," Syaoran said, fumbling up and down the stairs, reaching to find to Sakura. "Sakura." he found her, his hands somewhere on her body.

"SYAORAN!" she screeched, pushing him to the other wall with a loud BAM. "THAT WAS MY BOOB!"

Syaoran flushed in the dark. He was thankful it was so dark, so Sakura couldn't see him. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "Uh - do you have any candles around here? I have a lighter." Sakura felt her way down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab the candles. It wasn't so hard to find, since this was her house. She could walk through her house blindfolded.

When she walked back over to the stairs, it was lit dimply from the screen of Syaoran's cell phone.

"No service," He explained, sliding the phone closed. "This is kind of a situation."

"Okay, go up the stairs slowly and then turn right. My room is there."

Clutching his arm, he led her up the stairs and turned the corner. "AH!" Syaoran cried, walking into the door. "Why didn't you tell me you closed the door?" he hissed.

"Stupid Wolf! You didn't ask!"

"YOU DUMB STRAWBERRY." he retorted, feeling for the door knob. He finally pushed the door open, then felt his way over to the bed, and sat down next to Sakura.

"Don't call me dumb!" she cried, making a movement to whack him. He caught her arm easily even in the dark, then snaked his hands up her arms, across her shoulders, and to her other hand to grab the candles. They were small candles already perched in a metal holder, and he lit it up.

The candlelight shone gently against his skin, and he could see Sakura's gentle glow. She looked terrified.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking around for something to put it down on. He chose her bedside table.

"…nothing!" she replied quickly. Sakura handed him two other candles, and he lit those, providing Sakura's room with enough light to see everything very dimly.

"Liar," he accused, sitting back onto the bed once he placed the candles around the room. "What's wrong?"

"…nothing." Sakura insisted, yawning.

"Are you tired?" he asked, raising an eyebrow

"Yes."

"…well what's wrong besides that? I know there's something wrong. Come on Sakura, you can tell me."

Sakura filled her mouth with air to make her cheeks go out. "I'm scared of the dark."

Syaoran let out a hoot. "Wow!"

"DON'T LAUGH!"

"Okay, I won't," Syaoran promised. "Promise." he stifled one of laugh before he calmed down.

An awkward silence filled the air as Sakura pulled her self further up the bed. Syaoran got up and looked at her with a mischievous look. "Are you afraid of the dark," he said, the candlelight glinting off his face. "Or me?"

He crawled onto the bed and half-pinned Sakura to the bed, his face inches from hers. Sakura blushed a newer shade of pink - it would have been visible even in the pitch black. "I-I…" she tried.

Syaoran supported his self with his left hand, and his right arm wrapped around her waist. Leaning forward, his lips stopped near her ear. "Sakura," he whispered, his surprisingly chilly breath brushing her ear. "Just kidding!"

He started to laugh as he collapsed onto his side so he was laying next to Sakura, but not so close that they were touching. There was a good three inches between them. Sakura blushed harder. "That wasn't nice, you Stupid Wolf!"

He laughed harder. "On the contrary, it was very funny! You wanted me to kiss you, didn't you?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"NO! Pervert!"

His cackling gradually stopped. He stared quietly at the ceiling, and Sakura sighed heavily. "What's with you? Do you PMS? Are you a girl? Your moods change so quickly. One moment you're laughing and the next you're deep in thought."

"It happens sometimes." he sighed.

"How come? Because of the Li Corporation and stuff?" Sakura asked, gazing at him with curious green eyes.

He smirk-smiled passively. "Not really. It's not the Li Corporation that has me worried about the future."

"Then…" Sakura searched her memory. "The Li Clan?"

"Bingo."

Sakura took a deep breath, then turned on her side to look at Syaoran laying beside her, who had his arms behind his head in a lazy fashion.

"What exactly is the Li Clan?" she asked carefully.

"My family. We carry along many secrets of China, weapons for ancient times, scrolls from the feudal days. I have to carry this on." he sighed again.

"What about your sisters?" Sakura asked. She realized - a little too late - that a girl wouldn't be able to.

Syaoran gave her a 'come on that's obvious' look. "No female will take over the Li Clan. The only reason my mother is the ruler of the Li Clan is because my father died when I was young."

"Oh." Sakura said simply. She searched her mind for what to say. "What happened?"

"My father, Li Xue, died protecting his friend, a magician. I know it's hard to believe in magic, but…" Syaoran didn't really know how to explain it. "You know, Sakura, you're easy to talk to."Sakura, Sakura's heart leapt. Sakura. He said her name. She loved how he said it.

"You don't want to take over the Li Clan, do you?" she asked skeptically.

"That's not it," Syaoran said, this time turning to face her as well. "I just don't want to take over it yet. Ever since I was little, I had to train to be the ruler of the Li Clan. Train this, learn that. Never doing what I want to."

"But you're a singer now." she pointed out.

"And you already heard. My mother doesn't even want me to do that."

"Oh."

Syaoran looked away, then sighed. He looked back at her - his amber eyes were so inquisitive, the gold flecks shining at Sakura. "Aren't you ever lonely here at home? It doesn't seem like anyone's home, very much."

"Yes. I'm lonely all the time. When my father isn't doing lectures all over the world, he's on archaeological digs. I'm always alone, besides Kero-chan. Toya, my brother, moved out two years ago. So I'm always lonely. Ever since my mother died." Sakura explained quietly. Unshed tears welled up in her eyes.

"Sakura…" he didn't know what to say. "It's…it's…"

"No, it's not okay. If she had died like a regular person, maybe. But my mom was young. She was a beautiful model."

Sakura shifted gently onto her back.

"Don't worry Sakura…" Syaoran said gently. "Do you want to talk ab-"

Soft snoring. _Poor girl…_ Syaoran thought. _She's so alone…_

He sighed, then softly got off the bed to reach to the blankets and pull them over her. Breathing softly, yet his heart quickened, he did the same. For some peculiar reason, sleep came easy to him too. Listening to her soft, easy breathing, and the rhythm of her heart beating, he fell asleep next to her, his hand in hers, restless, and dreamless.

* * *

**Chapter 4 Preview:**

_"Syaoran! Where are the chips?! If I don't have chips on this ride I'll freak out and get all weird!" _

_"I ate them..." _

_"OH MY GOD! Takashi, stop the car!"_

_"WHAT? NO." _

_"Go to the closest seven eleven!"_

_"What's a seven eleven?"_

_"...this is some road_ _trip..."_

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**TA-DA! There's chapter three for you. It's so long - in my opinion. Hope you like the Syaoran and Sakura fluff! Sorry, no kissed yet - mwuahahaha. I'm sorry, I must be driving you crazy! Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Go review - and I'll update even faster than fast. .**

**PS. Sorry about the quality of this chapter. It took me about two hours to write, and it's really late. I mean early. It depends on your perspective, but it's safe to say I should have been sleeping. Sorry if it makes no sense, I'm tired, and I'm sleepy… -sigh- I'm going to die at school today. Anyway…**

**- Yukiie Jun Duong**

( A/N: Sorry about all this Chinese, I hope it didn't confuse you. Usually, I don't like using other than English words in my stories, but it was needed in this chapter. )


	4. Mommy, Mommy Nadeshiko

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H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addict

Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

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**Notes: AU, no magic stuff. ****_Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling.  
_Ages: Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 21. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.  
****Chapter 4 Disclaimer: **I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or it's characters. I also do not own MSN Messenger. I do not own bounce by Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliot. I also do not own the song, "Little Turtle," sung by Nicholas Teo from the Smiling Pasta OST. I am using his lyrics, which are slightly edited. I don't own Tekken 5, either.  
**Authors Note:  
**_Hey guys I'm back. Sorry this update took longer than the others - I had a playoff game on Friday, and a test on Thursday, so I was utterly bored and busy. We lost in the quarter finals -sad look-. We went into triple overtime - can you believe that?! They made me play for all three of them, too… _

BTW, Sakura's room is similar to the one in the anime but this time she has a balcony. (:

PLEASE NOTE THAT I GAVE THE WRONG PREVIEW LAST CHAPTER. THAT'S A PREVIEW FOR CHAPTER FIVE, AND IT WASN'T EDITED. RIKA ISN'T EVEN IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS. I WROTE A NEW PREVIEW, IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT.

Anon. Reviews:

S. Mercury: Squeeaa! Thank you for your great, great review! It made me feel so… OMG HAPPY! Hehe. Well, half of the chapter was done late at night, and the rest is after school (and after studying…), so hopefully it's good for you. And just call me Yukiie.

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**Chapter 4: Nadeshiko**

When dawn bothered to break, so did Syaoran's eyes. They cracked open quickly, alert, his heart rate managing to stay at a normal level. He scanned the surroundings - it was Sakura's room. He lifted his head gently too look straight ahead, where he found himself looking out at two glass doors that were opened, the long white, almost translucent curtains fluttering in the wind, sunshine pouring in the dark room.

It was barely dawn - the sun was breaking slowly today.

A small head of auburn hair moved slightly under in the area between his arm and his chest. _What the hell, _Syaoran thought. _When did we get this close last night? _It was true. He had fallen asleep holding her hand, but now both his arms were wrapped around the middle of her stomach. They were still in their street clothes - but Sakura's black Diesel shirt had ridden up to reveal the flat of her stomach. Sakura's arms were bent upwards, her left hand curled against his side.

He flushed at her unveiled stomach. He'd seen it at the beach, but this little unintentional showing of her bare body made him blush. Slowly, he reached up to the bottom of the cotton shirt and pulled it down. Syaoran looked at Sakura, and found she was still asleep.

Using all his training for the Li Clan and applying it here, he slipped his left arm from underneath her quickly and quietly, without her waking up, like oil slicking some metal. Then, he gently lifted up her head and placed it onto the pillow, then got up. He took one last look at the still-sleeping Sakura before stripping off his dark t-shirt, which was stuck to his back from sleeping, leaving him in his loose dark blue jeans.

He walked over to the balcony and stepped through the open glass doors, the feathery, light curtains grazing his bare, muscular arms. The rain had long dried, but it still felt a little chilly. Syaoran inhaled the fresh scent of rain that lingered in the air, and was already sucked in. Sakura had a great view - the other houses that stood tall and happy, and although it was a good mile or two away, he could see the ocean stretching out towards South Korea. Leaning against the railing, he grinned to himself.

He'd just spent the night holding Sakura in his arms.

A feeling of apprehension filled his body. The words Li, and Clan, kept repeating over and over in his head. _I'm just looking for trouble, aren't I?_ He thought with a sad smile.

"Syaoran?" came a meek voice behind him. He turned slowly to see Sakura - but not in her street clothes anymore. She instead wore a long white silk tank top, the ends of her silk shorts only extending out a few inches. The dawn's light rays fell upon her, her light skin glimmering, the white reflecting the light and into Syaoran's eyes.

Syaoran's head almost fell off. "Why are you wearing that?"

"I'm going to go back to sleep soon - it's 6am." Sakura explained.

"You…" Syaoran's throat felt dry. "Look celestial." he managed to smile softly at her without drooling.

An instant blush heated up on Sakura's light face. "Th-thank you…"

Sakura nodded with a smile, then went inside, closing the door as the curtains fluttered to a stop. Syaoran stared on after her, then gazed back out towards the ocean.

I've only known her for like five days. How can I even think like this?

Syaoran shook his head slowly, both upset and angry. He bit back a curse at the Li Clan. He knew he had so much to be thankful for - his wealth, his skills, but sometimes he wanted to be regular. A person with no burdens on their shoulders.

Syaoran didn't know how long he stayed out there. He guessed for an hour, because the sun was a little higher in the sky and a few people were up and walking around. He walked the same path that Sakura did to get back into her room. She had the blankets piled over her slim body and was snoring softly. Syaoran smiled gently, slipped on his shirt, then scanned room for a computer. Just as he expected, a flat screen monitor sat on a light desk. He walked over and found it on standby, so he started it again.

Sitting in the black office desk chair, Syaoran logged on to his email account to check his mail. He was already grimacing when he saw who the fourth one was from. Clicking it warily, he read the email.

From: **Li Yelan ( ) **_  
To: **Li Xiaolang ( )  
**Sent: Thursday, June 5, 2008 06:27:07 _

Xiao Lang,  
I will not ask where you were last night, but it is regrettable that I could not say goodbye to you. I've left for Hong Kong again with Sheifa, Fanran, Feimei and Fuutie. Wei is the only one at the mansion to help you, I expect that will be sufficient. You've been gone much too long. I realize you have gone to Tomoeda to study, but China's universities are elite. I don't understand why you wanted to go to visit your friend Eriol. I cannot force you to come back soon, but realize by your twenty-first birthday you will take over the Li Clan. I ask you come to Hong Kong by July 1st, 12 days before your birthday. If you fail to meet this, I will have to force you to return to Hong Kong.  
Sincerely,  
Li Yelan

Syaoran, for once, felt like crying. Although he never did, he often felt it. He was taught to be stronger than that. He felt no love from his mother. What mother signs her name as sincerely? Shouldn't it have been love?Shaking it off, he signed off his Liclan account and signed on to his school account.

_From:__** Toki Takazawa ( )  
**To:_**_ Syaoran Li ( )  
_**Sent:Thursday, June 5, 2008 06:32:07

_This is a notice to all University of Tomoeda students. The following classes are cancelled for today, June 5, 2008: Yang-sensei's Chinese Language Art's classes, Tanakawa-sensei's Journalism classes, Terada sensei's sociology classes, Miss. Lawton's English classes, Haruka-sensei's law classes, Maki-sensei's drama classes, and Harada-sensei's Greek History classes.  
__Also, the following days we will have no school: June 6, 9, and 10th.  
__Have a great long weekend everyone._

_Sincerely,  
__Student Rep. Toki Takazawa_

Syaoran blinked once then managed a smile. He had a five day long weekend! So did Sakura, and most likely, the rest of the gang. With a newfound excitement, he got up and grabbed his cell phone from the bedside table to call Takashi or Eriol, but instead found two texts.

**Text Message #0189:  
Yumi Takaha  
**Yo! No classes today, Li! Just wanted to make sure you knew before you went to school and found your class was not there!

**Text Message #0190:  
Closed Eyed Guy TY  
**Hey loser, we don't have classes for the next five days, neither do you and Sakura-chan, right? Meet at Tomoyo's house at 10. Bring overnight clothes for the next three days. We're going down to this cabin at a lake. I'll explain it later.

Sakura stirred on the bed. Syaoran inhaled a little sharply, hoping he hadn't woken her up. She looked really tired, and it was only 8:30. She tossed over a little, then pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders. Syaoran smiled then walked back to the computer, this time signing on to MSN. He immediately got a message.

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**you get takashi's message?

**SyaoranLi. honeymelon the god. says:  
**yeah, I woke up a little while ago.

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**kk. naoko and rika aren't coming though. where are you?

**SyaoranLi. honeymelon the god. says:  
**somewhere…

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**seriously, it started raining and thundering hard when you left. what happened?

**SyaoranLi. honeymelon the god. says:  
**car got flat tire. currently at sakura's house. took shelter here last night.

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**ROFL wow are you serious? what happened -wiggles eyebrows-

**SyaoranLi. honeymelon the god. says:  
**nothing happened you fag.

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**-evil grin- if you say so bro. ne way, where your car break down? i'll go pick it up and change the tire on my way with takashi.

**SyaoranLi. honeymelon the god. says:  
**'bout three blocks east from sakura's house. on 88 street. where's kero?

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**being taken care of by tomoyo's servants, no worries. kk, imma go pack then head out. ill be at sakura's in ten minutes.

**SyaoranLi. honeymelon the god. says:  
**wait.

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**what is it?

**SyaoranLi. honeymelon the god. says:  
**uh… where are we going?

**ehirigizawa, plum : ) says:  
**i'll explain later. sakura will probably know. oh, speaking of sakura, go wake her up. see you at tomoyo's.

**- ehirigizawa, plum : ) has signed off -**

With a sigh, Syaoran signed off and shut the computer off. He walked over to the bed and shook Sakura awake gently.

"Kaa-san… I'm tired, can I sleep a little longer?" she mumbled slowly, digging her head deeper into the pillow.

Syaoran's mouth made a little 'o', and didn't know what to say. She really did miss her mother, so much. He shook her a little more. Sakura finally turned over and looked up at Syaoran with a groggy look.

"Oh, what time is it?" she managed once she saw him.

"It's quarter to nine. We need to pack. Eriol and Takashi messaged me about a lake or something, and to meet at Tomoyo's house at ten." he explain, lifting the blankets off her.

"Oh," she smiled brightly. "We're going to Spinel Lake. How many days?" she asked, getting up and reaching underneath her bed for a larger black bag.

"Three," Syaoran replied. Then he paused. "Hurry and pack, Takashi and Eriol are coming right now. They're bringing my car, so I'll go home and pack then meet you at Tomoyo's."

Sakura nodded then packed one pink tee shirt, a sweater, one pair of jeans and one pair of tracks. She added in two bikinis, socks, and - Syaoran didn't see - some panties. He raised his eyebrow a little.

"Don't you need more clothes than that?" he asked, eyeing her small bag.

Sakura stifled a laugh. "Not even. Not when your best friend is Tomoyo-chan!"

Syaoran gave a little smile.

"I'll go have a quick shower. I'll meet you at Tomoyo's okay?" she smiled lightly, then, quick as a grasshopper jumps, she wrapped her arms around his body, then pulled away and skipped into the shower. Syaoran smiled a little, then put on his sweater and walked down the stairs. He pulled open the door, and Eriol and Takashi were standing there, looking at their cell phones.

"Yo," Eriol greeted with a smile. "You look like shit."

Syaoran nodded. "Thanks, wanna smell my breath, too?"

Eriol rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Oh hell no. I don't wanna die on the way."

"Okay, well, Sakura's showering. You guys go with Sakura, and I'll take my car to my house then meet you at Tomoyo's later."

Takashi opened his eyes slightly. "Did you know that having three people in a car at the same time-"

Eriol covered Takashi's mouth. "I'll tell Chiharu about this."

Takashi laughed. "S - N - I - T - C - H!"

The two walked into the house with a wave to Syaoran then shut the door. Syaoran sighed and walked down to his beautiful Gallardo. Somehow, these rides were lonelier without Sakura singing in the passenger seat.

* * *

Sakura arrived at Tomoyo's house with Eriol and Takashi before Syaoran made it. Chiharu was already there, as was Meiling. Tomoyo nearly jumped her. "SAKURA-CHAN COME TRY ON THESE OUTFITS I MADE FOR YOU!"

Chiharu and Meiling clapped excitedly from behind her. "B-but we'll only be there for three days."

"More like four. Tomoyo's cabin just got renovated." Meiling explained to her. Chiharu skipped behind Sakura in her mid-thigh cut shorts and t-shirt, then pushed her towards Tomoyo's room, leaving the boys to follow.

Tomoyo practically shoved the first outfit at Sakura, and pushed her towards the bathroom. Sakura stepped onto the tile, then stepped out of the slippers. One look at the outfit made Sakura smile. Tomoyo had been making her clothes for the longest time, but the outfits were nicer now - no more feathers, ribbons, wings, and the sort. The outfit was a white hoodie with the letters sK on the left arm printed in green letters, and loose black shorts that were slightly longer than Chiharu's. She pulled the hoodie over her head, pushing the sleeves up to her elbows, and slipped on the shorts, revealing her long, lotioned legs that seemed like they lived to tease. She had backcombed her hair slightly, so when she pulled it into a semi-high ponytail, it looked messy but beautiful.

She stepped out and smiled at Tomoyo. "Thanks, Tomoyo-chan, but why all this if we're just going to stay in a car all day?"

"An SUV." Chiharu corrected.

"Meaning," Meiling grinned. "Tomoyo has more for you. But you'll see at the cabin."

Eriol and Takashi just grinned at Sakura, who smiled nervously. Tomoyo smiled evilly. "We'll be in the SUV until like six, so why don't you go put on some jeans, I guess?"

"Whoa, when'd a super-model get here?"

Everyone turned towards the familiar voice - Syaoran - who was standing there half-gawking at Sakura. Sakura flushed and the others laughed, wiggling their eyebrows. Syaoran's hair was wet from a shower, dressed in his usual: dark jeans, black shirt, black sweater. Slung over his shoulder was a dark green bag stuffed with clothes.

Sakura, still blushing, turned to the washroom to change her jeans.

"Uh… okaaaay…?" Syaoran took a seat at the end of Tomoyo's bed. "Okay, so tell me about Spinel Lake, would you?"

"It's a good eight hour drive." Eriol summarized the road trip there.

"…Who's driving?" Syaoran asked lazily, looking at his key ring.

"Me!" Takashi exclaimed, raising his hand. "We're taking an ESSS - YOOOU - VEEEE!" he said excitedly.

"An SUV?" Syaoran replied slowly. "You? How do you drive… with your eyes closed?"

Chiharu closed her eyes and shook her head. "He's the best driver here. I don't think you want to know how he does it."

Syaoran chuckled to himself.

"Then what are we doing here?" Sakura asked from the bathroom door, clad in her hoodie and jeans. "Let's get on that road and go!"

The gang cheered in agreement and followed Takashi - who led then with closed eyes - to the SUV that waited out front.

The huge gas guzzler seated just enough people - three in the back, two in the middle, and two in the front. Everyone hauled their bags into the very back, and around the aisles of the seats. Takashi jumped into the front, Chiharu in the passenger side. Takashi stuck the key in the ignition and turned it once, then revved the engine. "Are we ready, kids?" he asked with a happy smile.

"Not yet!" Eriol called from the back. He ushered Tomoyo to sit in the furthest back seat, with Eriol following. Next to them sat Meiling.

"Hurry up, guys!" Takashi yelled louder over the revving of the engine.

Syaoran smirked as he sat next to the left window and Sakura next to him. Syaoran shut the large black door and felt the air conditioning flow through his clothes and hug his body. "Alright Tak, head out!" Syaoran called. "Stop revving the damn engine, man!"

Takashi turned back and grinned. "We're missing something." he held out his hand and opened his palm.

Sakura leaned over to grab a smaller, blue and white bag, and zipped it open. "You mean, music, correct?" she asked with a small grin. Takashi nodded knowingly.

She pulled out seven ipods. Three thin, black ones. Two iPod touches, one white iPod video, and one sharp green one. Sakura laughed. "Which one?"

Takashi debated this. "Let's go with Syaoran's sick music taste."

Sakura pulled the headphones out of the green iPod and tossed it to Takashi, who plugged it into the car's expensive, top of the line stereo. He pressed play and cranked it up a bit, a soft Chinese song floating around the car.

_"Yao ni yong yuan shi wo de xiao Ying Fa, wo ai ni… mei yi tian …"_

Sakura's first thought was, _was that the song I heard in his room? _but realized it definitely was not. She strained to hear the soft voice that sang without the company of any instruments.

Syaoran almost hit Sakura in the face when he leapt up to switch the song, an upbeat Korean song pumping the bass. Takashi hadn't pressed his foot down on the pedal yet, but he nearly had a heart attack.

"What the hell?" Eriol asked from the back.

"Nothing, it's a work in progress. Let's go, man, I wanna see Spinel Lake as soon as we can!" Syaoran replied with a grin. His voice was strained - Sakura could tell - but he fooled the rest.

"I want you to… something, something… yong yuan? Forever? Something about love forever? …Blossom?" Sakura tried decipher the words. "God, it was like listening to Arabian or something!"

Syaoran glared at her lightly. "You have it totally wrong. How are you passing Mandarin?"

"I don't have it wrong! Unless you sung different tones, but then it would make NO sense whatsoever." Sakura retorted.

"Well maybe I pieced together random words, how about that?" He glared harder.

"Guys, stop it! Tak, let's go!" Meiling yelled from the back, temporarily stopping their feud.

Takashi nodded then pressed down on the pedal, speeding down the path.

* * *

Takashi had been driving for an hour down the highway. Syaoran was already bored - that had another, what, seven hours to go? Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling were in the back talking about random things, and Sakura was sitting reading a book entitled City Of Bones. Syaoran took one look at the topless man on the front and nearly barfed.

Sakura sighed heavily from Syaoran's side. She slapped the book together. "I can't believe it! Jace and Clary are siblings!" she moaned. "This is so not right!"

Syaoran raised his eyebrows but chose not to answer.

"Let me see them big titties, don't be actin' saddity you not pretty," Sakura half-sang and half-rapped. "Break bread if you wanna get wit' me, all I wanna do is dig off in them kidneys."

Chiharu picked up right away as Takashi cranked the song. "Tell ya boyfriend he better mind his business, 'fore he end up in the trunk of my Bentley!"

"I am still a boss, he can't hit me, he ain't got enough paper to deal wit' me," Eriol rapped from behind. _Wow, _Syaoran thought. _Who knew Eriol could rap or sing period? "_Baby girl wanna two step wit' me, turn around rub that ass up against me." Eriol nudged Tomoyo suggestively, who laughed and whacked him on the arm.

"Whoa, lil' mama done got tipsy, hit it tonight, tomorrow you're history!" Meiling sang a little off-beat. She loved this; singing with everyone.

"All you haters wit' that hoe shit miss me, I stay strapped security don't frisk me. Set it off 'til this muthafucka empty, I turn around do the same shit next week, come on," Takashi sang - and drove - with his eyes closed.

Syaoran smirked. "Bounce, like ya ass had the hiccups!" he sang. The others joined him.

"Bounce, like we was ridin' in my pickup. Bounce, why you lookin' so sad? Baby girl you need to cheer up. Bounce I got the remedy, it's you on me and me on you, and you on me and me on you and you on her, then her on me and her on you and y'all on me, Then me on y'all and y'all on me!"

Everyone was half singing and half screaming. When the song ended, everyone collapsed in hearty, loud laughs.

"We need this SUV to start bouncing," Chiharu giggled. "That would make this moment so memorable."

Sakura shook her head with a mischievous grin and pulled a thin black camera from her bag. "All moments can be memorable," she told them. "Every moment, is a Kodak Moment." -wink wink-

Tomoyo burst out laughing. "That dinky camera is nothing to my awesome video camera!"

Sakura began to capture picture after picture, capturing every moment, while Tomoyo began to tape everything.

"Syaoran! Where are the chips?! If I don't have chips on this ride I'll freak out and get all weird!" Meiling yelled, jumpiness embedding her voice.

"I ate them..." Syaoran replied quietly, scratching his arm. He gazed away from Meiling's evil eye.

"OH MY GOD! OH HELL NO. Takashi, stop the car!" she screeched, nearly jumping out of her seat.

Takashi took one look through the rear-view mirror. "WHAT? NO."

"Go to the closest seven eleven!"

"What's a seven eleven?"

Chiharu shook her head. "...this is some road trip..."

"Augh!" Meiling let out an audible groan as she stepped out onto the grass and her knees buckled. "Eight hours of sitting WITH NO CHIPS will do that to you."

Sakura followed Meiling out the door and stared at the huge wooden cabin that loomed over her. To the left of the cabin was a path through the trees that lead to the lake.

"Tomoyo, this is a cabin?" Syaoran asked, holding both his bags and Sakura's.

"Yes, yes it is." she smiled with stars in her eyes. She raced for the cabin doors, shoved a key in it and turned the doorknob, revealing the inside. Quickly, everyone ran inside, slamming the SUV's doors shut.

The cabin was more like a big house. It was heated and air conditioned, with running showers and toilets. The living room had two couches and a tv, but nothing extravagant. The cabin was equipped with one, very big, bedroom, where six beds lay, adjacent from each other.

"I call this bed," Takashi grinned, tossing his bag onto the bed by the window. "But someone won't get a bed."

Sakura raised her hand. "I'll sleep on the couch." she volunteered. The others could tell by the look on her face, that even if someone argued with her, she wouldn't let anyone not sleep on their beds. The others nodded appreciatively, then tossed their bags on to random beds.

"I don't think we'll be able to do anything," Eriol told them. "It's getting dark already."

Syaoran, who had never been to Spinel Lake, looked confused. In Tomoeda, there would have been another four, maybe five hours of sunlight left. Sakura shrugged at him. "Spinel Lake is like that."

"Then why don't we rest, tonight," Meiling suggested. "Then go down to the lake tomorrow afternoon and a bonfire tomorrow night?"

Everyone nodded vigorously, except Takashi, who's life revolved around food. "What about dinner?"

Chiharu stifled a laugh. "I'll take care of that," she said.

Every agreed, then Eriol pulled out a small, rectangular box, that shone in the dim light that came from the window. With an evil smile, he announced, "I challenge Takashi and Syaoran to the ultimate game of Halo 3," he grinned. Takashi rubbed his hands together and Syaoran smirked. "TO THE XBOX 360!"

They charged out of the room together, arguing about who the 'God of Halo' was. Sakura rolled her eyes, then reached into her bag. "Oh no," she muttered to herself. "Where are my pjs…"

Tomoyo tapped her shoulder. "No worries!" she assured Sakura. She reached into her own bag with her free hand and pulled out folded pink and white plaid shorts and a pale blue pyjama shirt. "Here you go!"

Sakura gave Tomoyo a knowing smile, and thanked her. With waves, Meiling, Chiharu and Tomoyo left the room to make dinner. Sakura shut the door without locking it, and stripped down to her bra and panties.

She looked down at the black bra. "This won't do," she said to herself. "My shirt is blue." Sakura turned to her bag, which was right at the foot of her door, and grabbed a white bra. She smiled and then reached around to unhook her black bra, then unhooked it from around her shoulders and tossed it at her bag.

Sakura had bad aim. It went a little too high, and would have hit the door …

"Hey, I just need to gra-"

…if it hadn't hit Li Syaoran's face.

Sakura's eyes widened and Syaoran's mouth dropped as he stared at her, the right bra strap dangling from his ear.

She screamed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! FUCKING WOLF, GET OUT!!" she shrieked, covering her exposed breasts with one arm and knocking Syaoran out of the room - via his face with the her free hand. Sakura slammed the door and locked it, leaning against the door, panting.

OH MY GOD HE SAW MY…

Sakura slung her bra on and slipped the shorts and big shirt on then walked to the washroom. Washing her face, she made the blush go away. Then, she walked boldly over to the door and swung it open. Walking down the hall, she saw Syaoran seemingly preoccupied with Halo 3, with the other guys. She then ran down the hall into the kitchen, where Tomoyo, Meiling, and Chiharu stared at her.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo cried. "What's wrong? You were screaming! Did you see a ghost?"

Meiling looked at her worriedly. "Yeah, the scream was really loud."

Sakura shoot her head. "Oh no," she managed a smile. "I tripped and fell."

"Oh, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said gently, taking her best friend into her arms. "You're so clumsy!"

"Yup!" Sakura agreed. "That's me."

Tomoyo smiled back at Sakura, then pulled a small wooden frame from her bag. I brought another picture of Auntie Nadeshiko for the house," she explained with a concerned look. "Is that okay?"

Sakura took one look into her mother's deep green-gray eyes and nodded slowly.

"Yeah." she said to them. "It's fine."

Although the awkwardness between Syaoran and Sakura at dinner was covered by their friends' chatter, Sakura kept quiet not because of that one reason. And Syaoran saw that.

Two hours after dinner, while everyone went to the living room to play Tekken 5, to decide who the master was, Syaoran noticed one missing person in the fray. "Where's Sakura?" he asked Tomoyo, looking around.

Tomoyo blinked. "I don't know. I thought she went for a nap." Syaoran nodded and went to the bedroom and knocked lightly on the door. Receiving no answer, he pushed open the door and on Tomoyo's bed were the pyjamas Sakura had been wearing, as well as a note.

_Everyone!_

_It's, hm… eight o'clock. Not too dark yet! I went out for a walk! I shouldn't be back late, my head just felt a LITTLE stuffy in the cabin. If I'm not back by dark, then a bear ate me! -evil laugh-_

_- Sakura-chan!_

Syaoran narrowed his eyes and walked out of the room, charging into the living room with the note with him.

"She went out for a walk," he said, tossing the note at them. They stopped to read it. "But it's dark already."

Grinding his teeth together, Syaoran collapsed in an arm chair. Then he got up. "I'm going out to look for her." he announced, then grabbed his sweater and reached for the door. Eriol came between him and the only way for Syaoran to go looking for Sakura.

"No," Eriol said sternly. "Not without us. We have to be smart. We need flashlights and someone to operate a fire outside the cabin so we can make our ways back if we go in the forest. Syaoran - you don't know these woods. If you go too deep, you might not find your way out. Not in the dark."

Takashi and Chiharu grabbed their jackets and reached into a drawer filled with flashlights. Takashi tossed one to him. "Here," he said. "Don't be idiotic."

Tomoyo nodded. "You really don't know these woods. Someone died out here from starvation. They got lost. Deep in the forest, it's almost always dark. Not as dark as night, but the shade from the trees…" She slipped on her jacket and lead Meiling by the hand towards the door. Tomoyo squeezed it tightly as a prayer to Sakura.

"Alright. Who'll stay behind? And let's go in group of twos." Eriol practically commanded. Although Eriol was commanding, it felt natural.

Takashi took a hold of his girlfriends' small hands. "I'm going with Chiharu. No doubts." Chiharu looked into his opened gray eyes and nodded.

Eriol opened his mouth next. "Then I'm going with Tomoyo." he said, passing a flashlight to Tomoyo. Syaoran looked around to Meiling.

"Meiling, stay here and operate the fire, okay? I know you're good with fire." he managed to speak without biting his tongue from worry.

"What about you?" she asked with concern.

"I'll be just fine." he said firmly. Meiling nodded uncertainly.

"If you say so…"

"Wait," Syaoran said, just as everyone was going to head out. "Cell phones?"

Tomoyo shook her head. "No reception out here. We're eight hours away from Tomoeda, you think they'd work?"

Syaoran growled. "Alright. How do we notify each other when one of us has found Sakura, then?"

Eriol pressed his lips together in a thin grim line. "We can't."

"T-this isn't a good idea," Chiharu peeped quietly. Takashi wrapped his right arm around her tightly. "What if one of US gets lost out there? With no communication…?"

Tomoyo ran into the house without a word a returned a moment later with a small box. "Here. It's for emergencies like this."

Everyone peered into the box. There was about a dozen walkie-talkies. Everyone smiled slightly with relief. Holding out the box, everyone took out a walkie-talkie. Takashi took one, Eriol took one, and Syaoran took one.

"No," Meiling said, taking out three more walkie-talkies. "If you get separated, you'll need one." The others nodded as she passed one more out to Chiharu and Tomoyo, who had put the box down. She kept one to herself.

Syaoran nodded without a word and started down to the far end of the forest. A hand caught his wrist. It was Eriol.

"Syaoran," Eriol said with powerful eyes. "It's 9:30 now. If we can't find her by 11:30 - half an hour before the darkest point in the night - we're going to call everyone back and we'll search in the morning. Sakura's a strong girl, she can …"

"She can what?" Syaoran challenged. "Freeze to death? It's cold at night and more so in the forest."

Eriol looked down. "Syaoran…"

But he was already gone.

_"Sakura!"_

_"Sakura!"_

_"Sakura!!"_

The others' loud cries could still be heard, echoing through the forest. Syaoran shone his flashlight back and forth, looking for signs of the cherry blossom.

"STRABERRY!" he yelled, his eyes searching in the dark. Although it was near pitch dark, Syaoran could still see clearly. "STRAWBERRY-GIRL!"

_"Sakura!"_

_"Sakura!!"_

_"Sakura-chaaaan!!"_

Syaoran's face began to turn red from frustration. "S-strawberry!" he screamed louder this time. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He panted from yelling at the top of his lungs, then stopped for a moment to look where he was. At some sort of conjunction in the middle of the forest. He chose to keep going forward, hoping it was the right choice.

_"Sakura…!"_

_"Sakura…!"_

_"Sakura…!"_

The shouts of Syaoran's friends began to quiet down. He mentally swore. They were spreading out.

W-where is Sakura… She's been gone for so long! Could… something have happened to her?

Syaoran thought bitterly to his self.

_**"SAKURA!!"**_

Where was she? She couldn't tell. How long had she been gone? She didn't know.

Sakura and her mother had come to Spinel Lake a lot when her mother was still alive. They had a special spot, right in the heart of the forest, where there was a small body of water - not as large as a lake, but not so small they could call it a pond. She had set out to find it before it turned dark, but as she got deeper and deeper into the forest, it got darker and darker.

She was using the dim light of her cell phone screen - no service - to navigate herself around, avoiding trees.

"Mom! Mom!" she yelled. "Mom? Help me! Mommy!"

"Sakura!" Syaoran screamed again. He ran through the forest, his heavy footsteps the only noise he could hear.

Wait.

The only noise?

Fuck. He swore to himself. _I must be far. Very far from the others._

He fished his cell phone out of his front pocket. 11:16. A beeping came from the back pocket of his Guess jeans. He pulled the walkie-talkie out of the pocket and clicked the button. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"Anyone found her yet?" Eriol's static voice came from the speakers.

"Of course not, I or Syaoran would have contacted you." Chiharu replied with a heavy sigh. "We travelled west from the cabin halfway around the lake. Where are you guys?"

Eriol's voice tried coming through the speaker, but came as static.

"Guys! Guys, I can't hear you, I -" Syaoran started.

Eriol spoke again. "You -- hear us -- far -- did you -- go --"

"I can't hear you!" worry broke out in Syaoran's voice.

"Syao -- s -- mov -- co -- back --" This time it was Takashi.

"-- ran! -- come -- you -- far --"

The line went dead.

"FUCK!" Syaoran yelled, throwing the walkie-talkie into the soft ground. Sighing, he picked it up again and shoved it into his pocket. He was obviously too far from the others for the walkie-talkie to work, and thus, had no ways of communication with the group. That, and he was lost.

"Sakura…" he whispered. "SAKURA!"

"Mom! Mommy! Mommy, where are you?! I want to go to our sanctuary!" Sakura shouted, running around aimlessly.

This won't do me any good.

She stopped.

"Mommy. Mommy," she whispered. "Mommy, please help me find my way!"

Syaoran was kneeling in a spot. His jeans were no doubt greened from the grass. He had tried looking up at the stars to navigate back - but what stars were there, past the giant trees' looming branches flocking with leaves, and past the dark gray clouds and covered half the moon?

It was cold, too. The cold seeped through Syaoran's protective sweater and onto his skin.

Then, he heard it:

"Mommy… Mommy! Mommy… please help me find my way!"

He got up quickly and followed the voice, this time controlling his feet so he'd be able to hear her.

"Mommy," she said. "Mommy!"

He ran now.

_"SAKURA!"_

_"…Syaoran?!"_

_"SAKURA!"_

She screamed his name over and over. Over, and over. He followed her voice, usually lyrical but now yearning to go home. He waved the flash light around, when he finally stopped at her.

Sakura. Standing alone, terrified, in the middle of the pathway, clad in nothing protective but a t-shirt.

"Sakura," it came out as a tight whisper.

Then he was running. He ran to her, and she flung herself and him. "Syaoran!" she whimpered.

"Sakura…" he whispered gently. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Sakura." Syaoran traced the line from her shoulders to her hands, and grabbed them gently, as if to reassure himself she was actually there.

"You silly girl!" he said with firm eyes. "Don't run off again!"

She nodded grimly at him. "W-what now?"

Syaoran reached for the walkie-talkie and tried to signal Eriol with one hand. "Eriol! Eriol!" he yelled, trying to get his voice to cross.

Static. Nothing.

The tiny form shivered in Syaoran's arms. "We have to try and find our way out of here." Syaoran stripped off his sweater and draped it over Sakura's shoulders. Nodding gratefully, she shrugged her arms into the too-big sweater and took Syaoran's outstretched hand. "Let's go."

They turned around and tried walked the way Syaoran had come. But even after an hour of searching - Syaoran checked his phone - he couldn't find the cabin. He'd tried seven times to contact Eriol, Takashi or Meiling, but got nothing.

Sakura's hand had grown paler and about ten degrees colder since they started. Her face was paler than usual - almost a ghost white.

"Sakura, Sakura…" he called, squeezing her hand tighter. "Hold on."

She nodded and followed him.

Syaoran noticed the trees began to break from it's line to make way for something - a building or statue or fountain, perhaps? - and he shone the light on it.

He found himself staring at a large pond and a small, rickety cabin. Sakura's face automatically brightened, if only a tiny bit. "S-sanctuary…" she whispered, reaching into her pocket. Her knees buckled before she could present Syaoran with whatever she had been retrieving, her eyes snapped shut, and she fell to the ground.

Syaoran caught her with alarm and picked her up. Her temperature was decreasing slowly but surely. Running with her held tightly in his arms, he went towards the old cabin and tried twisted the locked door. Panic shed in his body as he tried it again, but then looked at Sakura's hand, which gripped a shiny metal key.

A shed of hope. He took the key and stuck it in the door, twisting it open. Jackpot.

The cabin looked long abandoned. It was cold inside - obviously not heated - and was dusty. He tired the light switch by the door, which flickered on some lights overhead. The light gave him a better view of the cabin. Although it appeared rickety from the outside, it seemed sturdy inside. There was no heat, no fire place, none of the kitchen appliances worked, and neither did the bathroom, but he did find a bunk against the side wall.

The top bunk had a hole in it, a hole that would have fit a five year old. The hole had a tear that extended to the railing, too. The bottom bunk, however, was intact, with a dusty blanket covering it.

Syaoran set Sakura down lightly on the rug and walked over to the blanket, which he picked up and shook free of the pounds of dust. Then, he picked up Sakura, and placed her in the bed, placing the blanket over her.

Leaning over on the bed, he watched as she paled. She wasn't warming up, and Syaoran could feel it. Her hands became colder as the night moved forward. Syaoran paled too, thinking of what he had to do next.

He folded the blanket downwards to reveal Sakura's shirt and Syaoran-sweater clad body. He leaned her forward, and peeled the sweater off, then, her shirt. He unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off, then hesitated, looking at her panties and bra dressed body.

_Stop it. Don't be a pussy._ Syaoran shook himself. _She'll die unless you do this. _

Syaoran unhooked the bra and gently pulled it off, revealing the same thing he had seen earlier, earning him a hot blush on his cheeks. Then, he slid off her black bikini panties.

He turned away from her naked body quickly, then quickly undressed himself. Stopping at his boxers, he turned back and pulled the blanket up to cover Sakura's paling body. Then, yanking off his boxers, he stepped out of them and laid on the bed, inching closer to Sakura. He turned her body so she'd be facing him, pressed up against his naked body, and wrapped his arms around her cold body.

"Sakura…" he whispered, digging his head into her shoulder. She turned her head to him a little.

"Mom…" Syaoran looked at her, alarmed, but found her eyes closed, and cold body warming slightly.

_Sakura, you need to warm up. _Syaoran said to himself, wrapping his self around her more, sending all his infrared waved of heat to her. The blanket that sheltered them did nothing.

_"Keep her warm, Li Syaoran,"_ said a gentle voice. _"Keep my angel alive." _

Syaoran's blood ran colder than Sakura's body as he looked up into gray-green eyes and a soft, pale face that was framed by wavy locks that were gray, not from age. She smiled a tiny smile at him.

_"Please keep my angel warm and safe,"_ she said. Syaoran watched eerily as her lips didn't move an inch as the words were spoken. _"Keep her alive. Sakura is still not grieving. She needs to move on, move on but not forget. Help her, and she will help you. Your troubles will fade away." _

Syaoran leaned up forward, and stared at her. Her tall, lean body covered with a long, pale green dress, did not touch the ground, instead floating with the help of her wings. She floated over top of them, hovering over Sakura's face.

_"I love you, Cherry Blossom." _the voice came in a whisper. The woman leaned down, closing her eyes, and placed a feather light kiss on Sakura's forehead. Then she looked up at Syaoran with pleading, yet sweet eyes that shined even in the darkness. _"Thank you, Li Syaoran."_

And she was gone.

* * *

**Preview of Chapter 5:**

_"Why is she still unconscious?"_

_"Syaoran…what happened?"_

_"There's no time to tell you right now. Help me get her into a bed!"_

_"She needs a doctor!"_

_"She won't be able to handle that much movement."_

_"Then…what will happen to Sakura?"_

* * *

**Almost 8000 words. Hehe. Okay, go read and review, please. Hope you liked this chapter. -wink wink- Sorry about the long wait update. Like I said, I wait for the reviews.**

**- Yukiie Jun Duong**

* * *

**03.11.08: Update, sort of. I felt I wanted to reply to a chapter FOUR (this chapter) review:**

**SailorCSH:** Before you review, and review ANONYMOUSLY, please, PLEASE make sure you know what you are talking about.  
1. What tea? WHAT TEA? I am SO confused.  
2. I was taught this is what you are to do when you're freezing.  
3._ "Syaoran noticed the trees began to break from it's line to make way for something - a building or statue or fountain, perhaps? - **and he shone the light on it**."_ Yes, he does have a flashlight. IT SAYS RIGHT THERE What are you talking about.  
4. Yes, well it's fiction. It's weird, so what? It's a MADE-UP story. And Sakura is seriously clumsy and dense, it's not her fault. Syaoran is making sure she stays alive, is that OKAY?

I'm not saying your review was bad, but you didn't really say anything nice, which is okay, but you didn't really give me any advice on how to improve, instead asking questions (that were already answered in the chapter...). Please read carefully before blurting out your questions. Starting your review with the er... most likely means you knew the review wouldn't be nice or it was not MEANT to be.

_Is that why it's signed anonymously?_

PS. I HATE ANONYMOUS REVIEWS THAT ARE POINTLESS OR ANONYMOUS FLAMES. Thanks.


	5. Somewhere With You! Sanctuary

**H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts**  
Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

* * *

**Notes: **AU, no magic stuff. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling._

_**  
**_**Ages: **Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 21. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.

**  
Chapter 5 Disclaimer: **I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura or it's affiliates. I don't own the following things used in this chapter -

**Authors Note: **Wow! Twenty plus reviews! You guys are incredible, thank you thank you! Here's the new chapter! Sorry about taking so long!

**Anon. Reviews:**

**SailorCSH:** Before you review, and review ANONYMOUSLY, please, PLEASE make sure you know what you are talking about.  
1. What tea? WHAT TEA? I am SO confused.

2. I was taught this is what you are to do when you're freezing.

3._ "Syaoran noticed the trees began to break from it's line to make way for something - a building or statue or fountain, perhaps? - __**and he shone the light on it**_ Yes, he does have a flashlight. IT SAYS RIGHT THERE What are you talking about.

4. Yes, well it's fiction. It's weird, so what? It's a MADE-UP story. And Sakura is seriously clumsy and dense, it's not her fault. Syaoran is making sure she stays alive, is that OKAY?

I'm not saying your review was bad, but you didn't really say anything nice, which is okay, but you didn't really give me any advice on how to improve, instead asking questions (that were already answered in the chapter...). Please read carefully before blurting out your questions. Starting your review with the er... most likely means you knew the review wouldn't be nice or it was not MEANT to be.

_Is that why it's signed anonymously?_

PS. I HATE ANONYMOUS REVIEWS THAT ARE POINTLESS OR ANONYMOUS FLAMES. Thanks.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Sanctuary**

For the second night in a row, Syaoran woke up as dawn cracked. It had warmed up by a good fifteen degrees, but Syaoran knew he should have been a million degrees hotter.

Where was Sakura?

Syaoran opened his eyes to look up at the bunk with the hole in it. Flipping the blanket off him and standing up, he scanned the room. Sakura was kneeling in front of him, her back to him, full clothed. It took Syaoran all of the thirty seconds that Sakura turned around, jumping at his standing body. "Kami!" she yelped. Syaoran smirked at her.

"No, but I hear the resemblance is striking." he replied with a chuckle.

Sakura raised one corner of her moth in a half smile, then flushed at Syaoran's muscular - and very, _very _naked - body, then laughed.

She laughed. SHE WAS LAUGHING?!

"Ahh!" Syaoran yelled, turning around and jumping into the bunk, pulling the thin blanket over him. He pulled it over his head with embarrassment, the heat of his blush emanating through the blanket.

Sakura sauntered over to him with a smile on his face. "Nice, uh," she stared at his 'spot' through the blanket. "…paaaackage." she finished, smiling at his face.

Syaoran blushed harder. "Get my clothes! Give them to me, you stupid Strawberry!" he cried, glaring at her. Sakura smiled then bent over to grab his clothing. It lingered in her fingers teasingly.

"We-ell…" she grinned at his helpless look. "Only because you saved my life." With a final smile, she tossed his clothes on his head and left the small cabin. Syaoran scrambled around the cabin to grab all his stuff and dress, then followed her out.

During the day, the cabin and lake, Sakura's 'sanctuary', was a lot more beautiful that it was at night. The lake was bright blue and sparkling from the little bits of sun the heart of the forest even got. It reminded Syaoran of his lawn, but without the lake.

He walked over to the pink-shirt covered back, which crouched over the water, and looked down on her, over her head. She was staring at her reflection, paying no attention to the new reflection that was there.

Sakura smiled; a smile that was rare, even for her. Priceless, beautiful, caring, - fragile. As if one touch, one interruption… would take it all away. Then, the smile widened into a bigger grin and ran her long fingers across the surface where her eyes were reflected. "Mom!" she said, as if she was a little child who was coming home from school to her mother.

Syaoran stared uncertainly. "S-Sakura?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she looked down at the water again, the gentle waves she caused easing to a stop. This time, her reflection mirrored a rather sad girl, lacking the beautiful smile he had just seen. Then, the corners of her mouth raised in a sad smile. "Mom." This time, she spoke softly; she missed her mother. Syaoran could tell. Without warning, Sakura stood up, knocking into Syaoran's jaw.

"Wah!" she yelped, almost falling into the small body of water. "Wolf?"

Syaoran reached out, his arms circling her torso, and held her against him. "Ouch," he said, rubbing his jaw with one hand. He turned to let Sakura out of his grasp. "That hurt. Watch where you're falling."

"What are you doing here?"

Syaoran raised his eyebrow. "Didn't … didn't you see me looking over you?"

She shook her head, her auburn hair flying around her head. "Not at all. I saw my mother." Sakura smiled to herself, taking one more look at the lake then walking away, towards the cabin, slowly. Syaoran caught up with her and walked in pace.

"So, this is your sanctuary?" Syaoran asked gently, careful to not pick out any unnecessary sad emotions.

She nodded. "My mom and I used to come here when my father was out of town on weekends. We'd have so much fun together, playing in the lake, exploring the forest. It was all so fun."

"Well," Syaoran started slowly. "What made you want to come back here last night?"

"My mom always told me…" Sakura's voice cracked. "…that if something ever happened to her, to come back to Sanctuary and find her."

He nodded. "I see. If you come here so much, how did you get lost last night? I almost lost my head trying to find you."

A ghost of a smile played upon Sakura's lips. "Oh really? Well… I dunno. It was dark, I couldn't see, I was upset from seeing my mom's picture. Just a mix of things."

"I understand."

The two walked in silence towards the cabin. The path from the lake to the cabin was worn, the gentle curve of a walked-on path showing in the slight. The image passed through Syaoran's head: a beautiful, young woman with long, flowing hair holding the hand of her pretty baby daughters hand, running down and up the path, laughing and talking about all the ways they could surprise her daddy when he got home from whatever country of city he was at.

Then, the next action surprised him. Looking up at Syaoran, Sakura smiled both happily and bitterly, grabbed his hand, and ran down the path with him. Her smile broadened as they reached the shade of the cabin. "Thank you, Syaoran." she whispered. "I'll wait here for you."

Syaoran nodded slowly with a gently smile, then twisted the door open. He wandered inside to grab the walkie-talkie, flashlight, and cell phone, then proceeded to meet Sakura outside. But, before he exited the cabin, he noticed a ratty, dusty brown book sitting on top of the cabinet, half-hidden. It was an old-fashioned book, with one of the ribbon-bookmarks in it. He pulled it out, and blew away the dust. The book contained to words on the front, so he opened it up. At the centre of the top line, it read,

_Nadeshiko Amamiya - Kinomoto_

Syaoran immediately shut it. This wasn't his business. He walked out of the cabin, intending to give it to Sakura. It was as if she had frozen; she had not moved from the position she was in when Syaoran went inside: her hands clasped behind her, back straight, ghost-like look on her face. He frowned and waved a hand in front of her face, snapping Sakura out of her trance.

"STR-AW-BERR-Y. Snap out of it!" he told her, snapping in front of her face. She jumped then turned to him with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry, sorry…" she mumbled, then waited for him to move.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "Waiting for you to go. I'LL just get us LOST."

Syaoran smiled and held to book in front of her. "I found this inside. It's your mothers."

"W-…" Sakura began. Her brow furrowed as she pulled the book towards her face, opening it up and looking inside. "I see. Well… let's go."

The forest, even though it was day, still seemed like his garden - courtyard back at the mansion. It was the same, huge, trees that acted like a huge parasol. Light leaked through the smallest leaves, and from behind Sakura, Syaoran could see what an angel she looked like.

What he would have done to just reach out and touch her hair.

It was an odd impulse, but he held it back. He could only imagine Sakura's reaction to him all of a sudden touching her hair.

About halfway back to the cabin, Syaoran began to take note of the warmth he had begun to feel. It wasn't a normal warm - it was more like, he felt safe, and his only mission was to make sure Sakura didn't get hurt.

Then, he saw the wings. His first reaction was, 'Nadeshiko-san,' but then he saw it. The wings. Or rather, wing. They weren't the shimmering white he had seen in the cabin. These were a pale blue color, and he only saw one..

Sakura was singing to herself. Syaoran reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her, holding a hand up her mouth, telling her 'shh.'

Syaoran looked around. Then, the blue winged angel floated down at them, coming from what seemed like the cracks of light from the sky.

"What the…" Sakura started. She backed up against Syaoran.

In front of the two was a floating, blue one-winged angel. She looked exactly like Nadeshiko. The same, pale skin. Warm eyes. Beauty.

But this one was different. In her eyes, possessed a piercing, sad look. Her hair hung down her back like a waterfall the color of the night sky. She smiled slowly at the two; a sad, bitter smile.

Sakura's eyes widened. "M-M…" she took another step back. "You're not my mom! Who are you?! Why do you look like her!?"

The usually scared of ghosts Sakura had gotten courage. Syaoran wrapped an arm around her protectively, pulling her away from the blue one-winged angel.

"_Daughter of Amamiya Nadeshiko?" _the one-winged angel asked. Her voice was gentle and lacy, but both Syaoran and Sakura could hear the hostility in it. The angel waited for an answer, but got none. _"Daughter of Nadeshiko?" _she repeated, firmer.

Sakura nodded slowly, fright in her movement.

"Who are you," Syaoran asked calmly. "And how do you know Kinomoto Nadeshiko-san?"

"_One day soon you'll find out." _she replied, her bitter smile turning into one of happiness. _"Kinomoto Sakura… you don't know the truth yet, do you?" _

"What truth?" Sakura bit, her automatic, hostile reply to this woman.

"_Do you know Daidouji Tomoyo?" _

"Yes. She's my best friend."

The angel's smile dropped, and she looked at her with curiosity. _"Best friends?" _she said to herself, looking Sakura up and down. _"She is… much closer to you than you think." _The angel looked angry this time, her eyes flashing.

"What… what do you mean?" Sakura asked, this time much gentler. "What do you mean?"

"_You'll find out soon, Sakura." _The angel floated down and touched Sakura's cheek lightly. Syaoran expected her to maybe flinch away, but she didn't. Sakura felt suddenly at ease - the angel's touch was soft, and her body instantly warmed up.

The angel disappeared. And Sakura fainted.

Syaoran ran back to the cabin as fast as his legs would carry him, an unconscious Sakura in his arms. He got back, and everyone was there, lacking Takashi and Eriol. A new face was there, however, a boy with black hair and warm blue eyes.

"Sakura-chan! Li-san!" they nearly screamed, rushing more over to Sakura than Syaoran.

"Why is she unconscious?" Tomoyo demanded, taking Sakura's face into her hands. Her eyes watered. "SAKURA?"

"Syaoran…what happened?" Meiling asked quietly.

"There's no time to tell you right now. Help me get her into a bed!" Syaoran replied heatedly, rushing her towards the cabin.

"She needs a doctor!" Chiharu screamed. She grabbed a walkie-talkie and undoubtedly was telling the two missing faces, Eriol and Takashi, what was happening.

"She won't be able to handle that much movement." Syaoran replied through gritted teeth, running down the halls of the cabin, and slipping her into a bed, ripping her shoes off.

"Then…what will happen to Sakura?" Tomoyo asked. She looked so small, tears running down her eyes.

"Calm down, Tomoyo. She's not dead…" Meiling said soothingly, rubbing her back.

Syaoran placed a hand on her forehead. "She's got a high fever. That's all. It's okay. She'll be fine."

Then, he directed his attention to the new face, who looked as concerned as Tomoyo, minus the tears. "Who are you?"

The boy jumped. "Oh! My name's Jun McDonald. I'm a friend of everyone. Don't you remember me from sociology?"

Syaoran vaguely recalled an boy with odd blue eyes in his class, shouting out an answer at Terada in the middle of open discussion. Syaoran nodded. "Yeah. I remember."

Jun walked over to Sakura, leaning down. "I used to date Sakura," he explained. He placed a hand on her forehead and turned white. "She's too hot…"

"You're stupid! And adopted! Oh, and then, you're not a McDonald anymore!" he cut. "You're like a - a, a … YOU'RE A TACOBELL NOW!" Syaoran, who had unsuccessfully made up a cutting remark about Jun, turned to face the fire.

"Syaoran, wouldn't taco bell be Mexican?" Meiling asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine! He's Edo! Or, or, Thai Express! Or ManchuWok! Hell, he could even be TokyoExpress! Shit!"

"Syaoran, I thought you were better at come backs!"

Eriol and the rest were here. Eriol stood there, hands on his hips, and although he had just cracked a joke, he didn't seem happy. "What happened to Sakura?!"

"We got lost," Syaoran explained lamely. "I found her, we couldn't see back in the dark with only a flashlight. We found the old cabin Sakura and her mom stayed at."

"Oh, Sakura, why did you get lost," Tomoyo asked with watery, worried eyes. She looked down at Sakura. "You always go there."

"Not in the dark." Syaoran replied with a sigh, patting Tomoyo's back.

Meiling narrowed her eyes. "Did… didn't the top bunk at the cabin collapse?!" she demanded, pointing her finger into Syaoran's chest. The others, as soon as they heard, looked up and watched warily.

"Uhh…" Syaoran attempted, looking up at Meiling's blazing red eyes. "I…"

"…decided that I'd sleep on the floor and she'd get the bunk! Why are you all so dirty minded?" Syaoran cut in, quickly thinking of an excuse. Their friends rolled their eyes at them.

"OH PLEASE!" Chiharu said dramatically.

"We just need to let her rest. Why don't we all go cook a big huge dinner for when she wakes up?" Jun suggested patting his thighs.

With inaudible groans, everyone filed out of the room and went to the kitchen.

The smell of sushi woke Sakura up. Her head throbbed and her wrists hurt, and she didn't know why. Ignoring it, she pushed herself out of bed and followed the smell of food - which, although she wouldn't admit it, she really wanted in her stomach.

"SAKURA!" Tomoyo screamed, stopping everyone in their tracks. Tomoyo rushed to her best friend, and wrapped her pale, white arms around her. Sakura hugged her back, looking at the others. Syaoran and Jun had aprons and chef hats on, obviously in a sushi competition - which Jun was winning. Meiling was setting the table. Chiharu was, too, but she was grabbing cutlery out of the drawer from behind Takashi. Eriol and Takashi were cutting fish.

"G-good morning everyone," Sakura smiled lightly. "What's for dinner?"

Eriol stared sternly at her and waved his large, pointy knife at her. "Next time you faint in a forest, I'll kill you!"

Takashi had the same expression on his face, and Chiharu stepped from behind him, holding a butter knife. "You ever," Takashi said.

"Do that," Chiharu added.

"Again,"

"And you're totally,"

"Dead." They finished together.

Sakura flushed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Meiling rolled her eyes. "Just go back into the room and relax. We'll call you when everything's ready."

Sakura nodded, then left.

She shut the door tightly, without locking it, and sat down on the bed she had been sleeping on - Syaoran's. Then, she pulled out the book Syaoran had found, and flipped it to the first page. It was dated about 21, maybe 22 years ago. She began to read, her mother's elegant script telling her story…

* * *

_December 20, 1986 _

_Fujitaka has left. He had to leave on an archaeological dig, and will be gone at least a year. He left at Christmas. How could this be? I love Fujitaka with all my heart, but sometimes I wish he would stay, or just say no, for Toya, Sakura, and my sake. But then I realize that is a very selfish wish. _

_Sonomi has left, too. She has important business in America. Poor Jiro-san, it must be so lonely, without any kids. We have made plans to spend Christmas together. His self, me, and Toya, at their mansion. It should be fun enough._

_Nadeshiko _

* * *

Sakura noted that Jiro was Tomoyo's father. She had met him once or twice, and didn't seem to really like her, so she basically stayed away from him. Sakura turned a few pages.

* * *

_December 24, 1986_

_Jiro has invited us to stay at the mansion until Fujitaka returns. Isn't that amazing of him? We'll be able to keep each other company, and he says Sonomi will be overjoyed. We'll be bringing our things in a couple of days._

_Jiro really is a very charming man. Handsome, too. He's part Korean, part Japanese. Not nearly as magnificent as my Fujitaka, however._

_Speaking of Fujitaka, he called today. He wished me a Meri Kurisimasu, which brightened my day._

_Ah, I hear Jiro calling for me. I will see what he needs._

_Nadeshiko _

* * *

Sakura felt a twinge of jealousy on her father's behalf. Why was her mother talking about other men in this book. She flipped another few pages.

* * *

_January 4 1987_

_Jiro is kicking us out. I cannot believe he would do this to us. I realize that… under these circumstances, that he should do this, but the way he said it to me, it hurt. I was scared at first when he called me to his office, afraid it would be like… that time. But instead, he said, with a calm, steady look. "Get out. Pack your things, I never want to see you again, Kinomoto. You have one day to get out." Then, he waved me away like I was his slave. _

_We're packing our things now. Sonomi is coming back tomorrow, so I realize, that he may have his reasons for wanting to kick me out. Sakura is confused, she keeps crying. Toya knows - I don't know how. He came to me one night and told me quietly he knew what had gone on. I started to cry, but he hugged me and told me he wouldn't tell if I didn't want him to._

_I don't. And I am grateful Toya is such a very mature young man._

_Nadeshiko. _

* * *

Sakura didn't get it. She flipped back to read the pages she skipped to see if it said what was going on, but it didn't. They were mostly about phone calls from Fujitaka, how great Jiro and the staff at Tomoyo's mansion were, and how much Sakura and Toya like their gifts.

Something was going on - something Nadeshiko didn't want told.

What the hell was going on ?

"Sakura?"

Sakura looked up to see Syaoran standing over her with a concerned look, his pink apron tied oddly at his side, rice sticking to his face.

"Oh, Syaoran," she said, closing the book silently. "What's up?"

"Come eat, we're done." he told her, taking of his chef hat.

"Okay," she grinned. "Who won, you or Jun?"

Syaoran could only grumble and walk out the door, Sakura following him.

After dinner, there was still sunlight for another few hours, so the gang bathing-suited up, and head to the lake side, intending on a crazy game of volleyball.

Sakura, however, stood to the side while everyone played . When she had told them she'd be sitting out, they all gave her a curious, concerned look. Volleyball was Sakura's favourite sport, it wasn't like her to skip it. But that was exactly it: life was getting boring for Sakura. It was the same old. If they went swimming, they'd play volleyball. If they went camping, they'd do the same thing they did last time. She was sick of it.

"SAKURA!" someone screamed. She was immediately out of her trance and looked up, seeing a volleyball whizzing to her face. Things seemed to move slowly as she stepped her left foot back, raised her hands, and set the ball back into the game.

The other stared in awe, as the perfectly set ball, that would have been perfect to spike, even though she was so far away, hit the ground. They all stared at her, and suddenly, Sakura felt self-conscious.

"W-what…" she muttered, rubbing her arm.

Syaoran gaped at her. "That, that was…" the sun reflected off her white and dark gray bikini. "I don't even know what to call that!"

Takashi leaned over to grab the ball, and ran to the back of the court. "You're trying out for the volleyball team, right?"

"I don't know," Sakura replied. "Maybe, I'm not sure."

"Are you saying you weren't on the team last year?" Syaoran seemed incredibly surprised.

"Exactly what I'm implying…"

Meiling put a hand on Syaoran shoulder and clapped it. "Don't ask."

The dark expression on Sakura's face prevented him from doing so.

"You really should, Sakura," Eriol said, snatching the ball from Takashi. "You'd be the best… uhh… setter? Power? Middle?"

Sakura smirked lightly. "I could do any."

"I think you'd be best for a setter," Syaoran noted. "You're fast."

But the truth was Sakura was sick of it all. If she did - play volleyball this year -, her mother would have to say so.

* * *

"_Mommy, mommy!" a little girl with auburn pigtails cried. "What sport do I pick?!" _

_A young Sakura and her mother was at the Tomoeda Sports Club. Sakura's parents had suggested Sakura take up a sport while she was young, and in front of her little 5 year old eyes were pictures of different patches with a symbol of the sport on it in different colors._

"_Whichever one you want, honey." _

_Sakura's eyes gazed up and down, left and right, scanning all the pictures. She stopped at a pink background, with a white volleyball on it. "This one! Mommy! It's pink!" _

_Fujitaka paused. "How do you teach a five-year-old volleyball?" _

_Nadeshiko laughed. "Don't worry. If that's what Sakura wants, she should get. Volleyball it is." _

_Sakura picked up the volleyball symbol in her clumsy, small hands, and brought it over to a smiling secretary. "Volleyball, huh?" the lady asked, her bouncy brown curls shining. She looked over Sakura. "You'll be good at it, I can tell. A born volleyball player." _

_The lady offered her pasty hand to Sakura, who grabbed it with enthusiasm. "Let's go, young Missy. Let's go see the other kids play volleyball." _

_Together, with Sakura's parents behind them, following, Sakura and the lady travelled past large gyms to a gym with one of it's double doors opened. Sneakers squeaked on the clean floors as people yelled, "Mine! Got it! Free! Service!" Sakura watched with amazement as this co-ed team moved back and forth, passing the ball up to a setter, and smashing the ball into the other team's court. _

"_I WANNA PLAY BOLLEY-BAWL!" _

_The three adults all chuckled at Sakura. "It's volleyball, honey," Nadeshiko told her, She leaned down, her honey gray coloured - not from age - locks trickled over his shoulders. Sakura dove at her mother, wrapping her small arms around her neck.  
__  
"I WANNA PLAY VOLLEYBALL!" _

* * *

"Aw-right! We all knew I'd bring some!" Takashi declared later that night, holding up bottles of alcohol. The fire in front of them was practically a bonfire - huge, hot, blazing a red-orange.

Syaoran looked up and rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? We're going to just drink in the middle of the forest?"

Takashi's eyes lit up. "Exactly why we're doing it here. Whatever happens here, stays in Spinel Lake."

"Well…" Eriol hummed. "Pass it!"

"Oh, I am in!" Chiharu cheered. She, of all people in the gang, drank the most. _'Blame it on my father's genes. He passed down my tolerance to alcohol.' _

Takashi tossed Eriol a bottle of beer, then turned to Sakura, who sat lazily next to Syaoran and Jun, on either side of her. She was staring into the fire, thinking about her mother's journal. She'd have to read more later. "CATCH!" Eriol told her loudly, sending the bottle of vanilla vodka flying at her face like a dagger. Sakura turned just in time to inhale sharply and shut her eyes tightly, flinching away from the bottle.

She sat there for a full minute then cracked open her eyes. "A-aren't I supposed to be knocked out?"

Sakura focused her eyes forward and saw that the bottle was being held in the air by not one, but two hands. One, a pale, thin hand, and the other, a tanned, strong hand. Their fingertips nearly touching, it was without a doubt that these were the two hands that had caught the bottle that could have severely injured Sakura.

Syaoran. And Jun.

"Uh…" she managed to mutter. Everyone stared intently as Jun and Syaoran glared daggers at each other, an awkward silence suffocating them.

Then, music cut through the air. It was an upbeat trance song.

"Alright! Time to play…" Takashi said, his eyes narrowing. "I NEVER."

Everyone groaned, except Syaoran. "What? What's I Never?"

Sakura sighed and waved the bottle in the air. "Get the glasses."

"I Never is when we all have a glass of alcohol, right? So I say, 'I never took a shit.' Just an example. So, if you've ever taken a shit, you take a gulp of alcohol." Meiling explained, grabbing some glasses that Tomoyo had brought.

Quickly pouring the drinks, everyone took a seat around the fire. "I'll start," Tomoyo said. She thought for a moment. "I never read a book while on the toilet."

Jun raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Are you serious? I thought everyone did that!"

Automatically, everyone but Jun and Tomoyo raised their glasses. "Oh, I guess they do." Jun chuckled, then raised his glass to take a swig.

"This is boring. Let's raise the stakes." Takashi muttered, already bored.

"I'm down," Eriol said, an expression of distaste from the alcohol on his face. "But how?"

Syaoran half-smirked. "I got it."

The gang looked at him expectantly, for about, oh, five minutes.

"Oh!" Syaoran said, as soon as he realized they were waiting for him. "Okay, so, everyone tells the cliff-notes version of what happened when they did the "I Never" statement, right? Then, we vote who had the worst story, and they have to strip off one article of clothing."

"…that's gay, but sounds good." Chiharu flashed a thumbs up. "But then that means the I Never statements can't be stupid or lame."

Everyone agreed. "Alright, my turn," Eriol started. "…hmmm. I never… thought about doing anything sexual with Ms. Ling, the Japanese History Studies teacher."

With a groan, Takashi raised his glass. Then, silently, Jun raised his own towards his mouth.

Chiharu gasped. "Kashi! You thought about Ms. Ling like that?! But we've been dating for like… ever!" Chiharu exclaimed, even though she didn't seem quite mad.

Takashi dropped his shoulders. "Well, remember that summer when we broke up? I was just laying at home, and while I was sleeping, I had like… a dirty dream."

"In the SUMMER? Why were you thinking about her in the summer?" Tomoyo raised a fine, silky black eyebrow. "Dude, gross."

"No, no! She dropped by my house a few days before school started and asked me if I could help her with her classroom… and that's all I'm going to say! Nothing happened! Kami!"

Chiharu giggled. "Hilarious."

"What about you, Jun?" Sakura looked over to him with an expectant smirk.

"Bro. She's hot." Jun replied, looking at everyone. "She prompted it by herself when she leaned over in her little skirt during class."

Sakura mock-doubled over. "Iick! I'd say Jun wins!" Nodding, everyone agreed.

"Take something off!" Takashi laughed, crudely shaking his shoulders.

Jun smirked again, looking straight at Sakura's eyes. Then, he pulled his black shirt off.

Sakura wanted to gasp, but held it in. She'd never seen him without a shirt, as they'd never gone to the beach together. Jun had always been slightly muscular, but she now saw that he was thin, yet built. His pale skin looked like it was made of marble. He had a defined chest, abs… everything!

"Whoa, Jun, when'd you get so big?" Chiharu asked, eyeing his muscular body. "Last time I saw, you were scrawny."

Jun rolled his eyes. "Last time you, Chiharu-chan, saw it, was when we were 10, and my shirt had a huge rip in it."

Chiharu smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I'd say that counts!"

Together, they all laughed. "Okay, kiddies, let's see." Syaoran cut in, rolling his eyes away from Jun's muscular, half naked body. "I never played volleyball against Sakura and lost -"

"-yet!" Sakura interrupted, playfully shoving him.

Instantly, everyone raised their glasses, except Tomoyo, who didn't play volleyball. Sakura beamed as everyone went around telling their story.

"Sakura six-packed me." Eriol muttered, sipping from his glass. Syaoran mouthed the words, 'six pack?' to Sakura, and she acted out the motions of someone spiking a volleyball into another persons' face.

"Sakura just won, 25 - 2." Chiharu sighed. "Such a bad loss."

"For me, it was every spike I delivered, she dug it right under me, and it came back up into my face." Takashi explained. Takashi was the one best hitter out of all of them. He spiked from up high, due to his jumping abilities, so it made sense when it came right back up into his face before he came back down to the ground.

"Her spike hit me in the stomach and I was out for a week." Jun glared playfully at her friend.

"Sorry, sorry!" Sakura exclaimed, holding her hands up.

Meiling shook her head thoughtfully. "She aced me! She aced a whole game at me!"

Everyone stopped their laughing at stared at Chiharu. "Every single jump serve! I couldn't deliver them back," Chiharu explained with a sad look. "It made me stop playing volleyball for like, a month."

"Yeeeaaah," Syaoran said. "You know what, Chiharu wins."

Lazily, Chiharu reached behind her back and under her shirt. She unhooked her bra and shrugged off the sleeves, then pulled it out from underneath her shirt. Takashi smirked.

"Ahh, that old trick." the smirk turned into a full smile.

Quickly, Chiharu finished pulling off her pink bra, and half-angrily, she threw it at Takashi's face. "HEY! DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT KINDA STUFF!"

Takashi cackled as he pulled the lacy pink bra off his head, then tied it like a granny would her sun hat. Chiharu's blushing doubled.

Syaoran smirked. The night had just begun.

* * *

_Chapter 6 Preview: _

_The light from the fire place illuminated Sakura's pale face as she stared back at Jun. Since he had come, and there were limited amount of beds, the two of them had to sleep outside on two of the four couches. _

"_So, how are you and your girlfriend?" Sakura asked, purely curious._

"_Jessica and I?" he asked with a bitter snort. "She cheated on me, so I dumped her." _

_Sakura blinked. "Are you serious? Jessica didn't seem like that kind of person."_

Jun rolled his eyes. "I guess anything can happen." he said. Then, he locked his eyes with her, slipping his hand over Sakura's. "Anything…"

* * *

**Oooh! Syaoran has competition, -wink wink- .**

**Anyway, sorry for the incredibly late chapter. Had a bunch of finals before Spring Break for our Term 2 report cards, playoffs for basketball, and social things… such as… going out with friends. Hehe, not only that, I've had a horrible writers block. But here's the new chapter… sorry that it's so short and so stupid! The next one will be better, I promise! **


	6. The World Changes: You Never Know

**

* * *

**

H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts

Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

* * *

**Notes: **AU, no magic stuff. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling.  
_**Ages: **Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 21. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. Easy as that!

**Authors Note:** Bleh, sorry for such a long update. I'm getting so darn bad with updates and for that I apologize, I'll try not to take too much time. But here's what's new with me:

I'm on Rugby and Track which **EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE SCHOOL WEEK **I am busy. Two of the five are usually morning practices but that means I have something after school, so it's either double practices or I have it after school. I know, I should be able to come home and work on it, but I DO have schoolwork and plus, I fall asleep usually, ;). Hehe. Well, I'll try and update faster. At the moment, I have a killer sickness. Sorry.

On with the chapter…

* * *

**Chapter 6: Part 2 - The World Changes: You Never Know**

The night was clear and beautiful, from what they could see through the leaves that shielded them from seeing the sky. The fire warmed their bodies - so did the liquor - and they sat there, screaming with laughter and stripping until they decided it was time to go inside and pass out.

Syaoran wasn't sure how suspicious he should be, since Sakura and Jun were to share a living room that night. Curse whoever failed to put just two - or one - more bed in the house.

He walked side by side with Sakura into the house; closely, so their shoulders touched. He refused to walk any farther.

"TAKASHI, GIVE ME MY BRA BACK!" Chiharu screamed at the top of her lungs. Her lacy, busty bra was still attached to Takashi's head, causing Chiharu's face to blush a new shade or red as she ran around the house, chasing him in nothing but a shirt and boxers.

"Come get me, babe!" he challenged, a grin on his face.

"TAKASHI!"

Everyone chuckled as the majority of them headed to the room to sleep, while Jun and Sakura headed to the living room. A pillow each were already on the two couches, blankets folded also, waiting for their inhabitants. Jun started a fire wordlessly as Syaoran stopped Sakura by the shoulders.

He eyed Jun. "You going to be okay out here?"

She blinked. "I'll be just fine? Why? Jun's not a rapist." Syaoran sighed and eyed Jun more suspiciously.

"If you say so," Syaoran replied. He reached down and touched her hand lightly. "Goodnight." He told her. Then, he leaned down slightly to place a feather-kiss on her forehead.

Instant heat rushed up from Sakura's heart all over her body. "G-goodnight," she stammered. Her cheeks flushed pink and suddenly she felt she wouldn't need the blankets anymore. "Sleep tight."

Syaoran nodded then walked towards the room - but not before eyeing Jun once more. Then, he left. When Sakura turned back towards Jun, who had apparently not seen what just happened, he had successfully ignited a bright flame. He turned to her, and smiled.

"There we go! We'll be extra warm, now." he told her, walking over to his couch and unfolding his blanket. The couches were placed in a right-angle form, with a coffee table next to them.

Sakura walked to her couch, unfolded the blankets, creating a bed for herself. But she didn't lay down, instead, she sat next to the fire. "Yep. Thanks for that."

Jun finished laying the blanket down then sat next to her. "So, Sakura, what are you taking this year?"

"Lots of things," she replied sleepily. She looked deeply into the fire, the red and orange dancing and cracking. She turned to Jun slowly. The light from the fire place illuminated Sakura's pale face as she stared back at Jun. "So, how are you and your girlfriend?" Sakura asked, purely curious.

"Jessica and I?" he asked with a bitter snort. "She cheated on me, so I dumped her."

Sakura blinked. "Are you serious? Jessica didn't seem like that kind of person."

Jun rolled his eyes. "I guess anything can happen." he said. Then, he locked his eyes with her, slipping his hand over Sakura's. "Anything…"

Suddenly, Sakura felt just a little uncomfortable, but made no movement to move her hand. "I… guess…?" she mumbled, looking away. Jun smiled.

"Goodnight, Sakura," he told her, getting up and laying down on his couch. Sakura stared into the fire again, feeling as if she should stick her hand into the fire.

"…goodnight."

* * *

Night came and passed, the sun rose and another day had begun at Spinel Lake. Everyone raced around the house, fighting for the two showers, so they could get ready for the boating - slash - swimming trip they planned to the very heart of Spinel Lake.

"OH MY GOD, JUN, YOU'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR LIKE AN HOUR!" Meiling screamed from outside a closed, locked door. She banged on it.

A muffled voice came from inside. "It's been ten minutes!" it shouted. Meiling groaned, her back against the door, and slumped her shoulders.

Sakura became aware of the voices at that moment and awoke, blinking about ten times before straightening up. Jun's blankets and pillow were not on the couch, so she figured he was getting ready. Flipping the blanket over her and swinging her legs to the side, she stood up and headed upstairs where there was one single room with a washroom.

It was Sonomi Daidouji and Jiro Daidouji's room, but Sakura didn't tell.

She followed the beige carpeting and dark oak walls through the narrow hallways to a large, ornate door. She placed her hand gently on the handle, then twisted, the coolness of the metal seeping through her skin. She pushed the door open to look into a large room, the size of half of the whole first floor. A large bed sat against the wall, nature paintings adorned the wall, and there was a desk against the opposite wall.

Sakura walked over to the door to the bathroom but found it to be locked, which meant Tomoyo was in there. With a little sigh, she decided to wait, walking over to the desk. She ran her hand over the dusty desk, which hadn't been cleaned in ages. Then, she ran her fingers through the handle to the top-right drawer. Curiously, she pulled it open.

There was a stack of papers there. The first, being medical sheets.

But they weren't for him.

Sakura leaned closer and pulled the drawer open some more. At the top of the sheet, it said:

**Kurosaki Women's Hospital **

**Kinomoto Nadeshiko **

**January 19****th****, 1987**

The shower stopped, and there was a noise from the bathroom door. With a silent, sharp inhale, Sakura shoved the papers back in and closed the drawer, and looked towards the door where Tomoyo was stepping out, a white towel wrapped around her small, gentle body.

"Sakura," Tomoyo smiled. "Need to shower?"

Sakura smiled gently. "Yeah." she said, adding a little 'eheh' to the sentence.

"I already told you, Sakura. You can't come in here." Tomoyo told her, then proceeded towards the door. Sakura stared straight ahead for a moment, then turned a fraction towards Tomoyo.

"Wait. Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo turned to her. "Yes?"

"…what does your dad do?" Sakura asked. It just dawned on her that she didn't know. "Is he a doctor?"

"No," Tomoyo shook her head with curiosity. "He owns the Daidouji Studios. You know, the movie producing place?"

Sakura's breathing stopped for a moment. _Why does he have my mom's medical stuff? _

"Oh."

Tomoyo nodded. "Yeah. Now come on, there are two showers downstairs."

Sakura followed Tomoyo numbly, pausing a moment to look at the desk's top right hand drawer. Looks like she wouldn't know what it was about any time soon.

* * *

The others were outside, getting all their stuff together for the boat ride. Sakura was dressed in a form-fitting white, gray and pink t-shirt with her bikini top underneath, with the black bikini bottoms and white flip-flops. Eriol walked by with a huge cooler, smiling widely.

"Hurry up, Sak!" he prompted, walking out the door.

Sakura stared at the phone, however. She needed to call Toya… she needed to know how -

"Sakura, come on."

Syaoran stood at the doorway, staring pointedly at her.

"Oh. Yeah. I'm coming." she replied, taking a quick look at him. He looked so handsome, in the simplest of outfits - a teeshirt and swim shorts. Sakura leaned over to pick up her mother's diary, and walked over to Syaoran, who waited patiently for her.

"Let's go," she smiled to him. "To Spinel Lake!"

Syaoran chuckled and lead her down to the lake, where everyone was packing their stuff onto the large boat. It wasn't even a boat - more like a tiny yacht. Syaoran stopped to admire it, causing Sakura to giggle. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, slipping her tiny hand into his for a moment.

Syaoran clutched her hand lightly. "It is."

"HEY GUYS!" Meiling and Takashi hollered from the top of the yacht. Sakura and Syaoran pulled their hands away. "COME ON, LET'S GO!"

Sakura being running to the yacht, Syaoran closely behind her. "You're so slow, Wolf!" she yelled, picking up speed. Syaoran scoffed.

"As if!" he yelled back, increasing in speed and passing by Sakura as if she were a snail.

"OMIGOD, HEY!" she hollered, chasing after him. Syaoran looked back and smirked. "Mwuahahaha!" he cackled evilly. He turned backwards so he was directly in front of her, running backwards. The trees and the others rushed past him and he continued running faster than her.

"Can you catch up, Strawberry?" he asked mockingly, a huge smirk on his face.

Sakura picked up speed. "YES!"

Then, Syaoran stopped abruptly, Sakura running smack into him. "AHHHH!" she screamed, reaching out for anything, anything that would keep her up and alive. She chose Syaoran's hair.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, WHAT THE HELL!?" Syaoran screamed, his hands on her ribs to keep her up.

Sakura steadied herself and looked up at him. "Oh god, sorry!" she cried, releasing his hair. "But serves you right! Why'd you just stop?" Sakura demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"BECAUSE THE YACHT IS RIGHT HERE," he retorted, gesturing to the yacht's steps right behind his feet. "DUH!"

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "How'd you know it was there?! Eyes in the back of your head?"

Syaoran smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, that's it." he muttered. "Are you okay?"

She rubbed her head. "Yeah, fine."

Jun walked from behind Sakura, a serene smile on his face. "Ready to go, guys?" Jun didn't seem to witness the previous events, simply walking in a pair of jeans and simple shirt. His hair was laying across his forehead, dusting his lashes. Sakura smiled and jumped to walk next to him.

"Sure am!" she chirped, walking with him onto the yacht.

It took everything Syaoran had not to punch him out right then and there.

He had self control, however, after years of training to take over the Li Corporation and Clan. He followed numbly onto the deck and walked past the cabins and kitchen and second level to the front, where everyone was ready to go. They faced the sun, which created a bright glow on everyone's smiling faces. The sky was blue and cloudless, promising a beautiful day.

Suddenly, the engine of the yacht was brought to life, as if waded away from the shore. Cheering and whooping could be heard all through the forest, and all through the lake.

"ERIOL!" Syaoran called from the bow. Eriol was over head, on the top floor sitting on the roof with Tomoyo, admiring the scenery.

Eriol looked down and grinned. "YEAH!?" He crawled over to the side of the roof and jumped down to talk to Syaoran, Tomoyo following.

"What did you pack to eat, man? No breakfast." Syaoran rubbed his stomach hungrily. "I need food, now."

Walking over to the huge cooler, Eriol opened the lid and pulled out some barbeque patties and hot dogs, gesturing over to the barbeque in the corner, hidden underneath a plastic cover. "These are for lunch, however," Eriol explained when Syaoran swiped at the food. He searched deeper into the cooler, picking up a plastic sandwich bag and exchanging it for lunch. "You can have this sandwich. Meiling made it, it's turkey and lettuce and mayo."

"Mayo?" Syaoran said disapprovingly. "Mayo is unhealthy. I know the way she packs the mayonnaise on…"

Eriol shrugged his shoulders and walked inside the driver room and stopped the yacht slowly. Taking a bit into his sandwich, Syaoran looked around to see that the lake stretched so far beneath them that the closest land had to be a mile away. The sun caused the lake, so blue, to sparkle and shine, and Syaoran thought the moment wouldn't end.

Until Takashi did a cannonball into the lake.

Water sprayed up, and after a moment, Chiharu, already clad in her bikini, dove in after him. Jun was next - shirtless, with swim trunks similar to Syaoran's dark green ones. He took a quick look at Sakura, who was quickly shedding off her t-shirt to reveal her yellow bikini but didn't jump in. Meiling jumped, in a one-piece red suit. Syaoran jumped in quickly after.

They screamed and giggled, laughed and hollered, splashing each other so hard that if they were amateur swimmers they would drown. Eriol and Tomoyo sat next to each other on the railing, swim gear on and a fishing pole in Eriol's hands.

"Do you know how to fish, Tomoyo?" Eriol asked, grinning to himself as he inched himself closer. Tomoyo shook her head.

"Not at all."

A huge wave came by, causing the yacht to waver a little, earning a leap from Tomoyo - a leap closer to Eriol.

"Time to teach you then!" he declared, moving a violet strand of hair away from her face so he could see her better. He held the fishing pole in one hand, and moved it towards Tomoyo, his palm curved so he both held it steady and offered it to the pale girl. Tomoyo closed the gap between their hands and put her small hand into his, which he closed around her hand. "Okay, so just pull back …" he told her, and they did so. "And whip your wrist!"

Oh, she whipped her wrist. And the hook came right at Eriol's chin.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" he screeched. He steadied himself though, and didn't move, hoping that Tomoyo wouldn't either.

"OH MY GOODNESS, ERIOL!" she screamed, nearly dropping the fishing pole into the water.

"No, DO NOT DROP IT!" he yelled. Then he calmed down.

"Sorry! Oh my god!" Tomoyo looked nearly in tears. She placed the rod between her thighs and held them together, then moved slowly towards Eriol's face. Gently, she reached over and unhooked the hook, which, was not hooked too tightly. She removed it, and Eriol moved her face around then rubbed the wound.

"Aaah." he groaned in pain.

"I'm so so so sorry," she winced. She leaned closer and placed her lips on his chin, softly, quickly, lightly. Then she pulled away, leaving Eriol about ten shades redder than the time the coach in high school had made him run thirty laps for skipping one class. "Watch, I'll do it this time."

Eriol inched to the left, away from her. Tomoyo pouted but drew the rod back then released, the line flying perfectly into the air and into the water. "YEEEAH!" she celebrated, dancing with her arms.

Smiling, Eriol patted the small of her back. "Good j- KAMI YOU HAVE A BITE!" he gasped, gesturing to the rod, which was being tugged at. Tomoyo grabbed it with both her hands and pulled it, failing to wind the line back in.

"You need to spin the black thingy!" Eriol cried in excitement. Tomoyo reached down and wound it, over and over. There was distance yelling from where the others swan, but the two ignored it, concentrating only on getting the fish up.

But it wasn't a fish. It was, in fact, a pair of black swim trunks, which belonged to Takashi.

"GIVE THAT BACK YOU THEIF!"

Everyone laughed at the top of their lungs. Everyone but Sakura, who sat on a comfortable chair, watching everyone closely. She smiled lightly, then pulled he rmother's diary to her face, flipping to a page in the back.

* * *

_September 1__st__, 1987_

_I am thankful Sakura is so young, so she cannot remember these past few months. I've been puking and moody, getting bigger each and every day. It's driving me insane, but Toya is making sure I'm okay. Sonomi and I haven't talked in so long - Jiro is making sure of that._

_I miss Fujitaka so much. Perhaps if he had stayed none of this would have happened._

_And Yuriko, too - I met her for lunch again today. I hate to talk to her about this, I can see the fire that burns in her eyes. I can also see that she wants to get up, and go kill him. But I cannot let her. All this business must be done first…_

_Nadeshiko_

* * *

Sakura blinked. Who was Yuriko? All these entries were undetailed, with nothing explained, thus driving Sakura crazy. These were just Nadeshiko's thoughts on the current situation; a situation that was in her head and her head only.

* * *

_September 2__rd__, 1987_

_Today is the due date. Fujitaka called today - _

"_Nadeshiko, dear, I'll be back in five days. I can't wait to hug you and hold you and remember that you are mine. I love you, my wife, I will see you soon." _

_It broke my heart to hear him say that. But I cannot wait to see him again._

_I have to go, now. It is very early and I need to get to Spinel Lake as soon as possible. I remember when I went there with Sakura. We had so much fun. I will be staying at my cabin and then going to the Daidouji's cabin._

_I hope everything goes well._

_Nadeshiko_

* * *

"…what…" Sakura whispered to herself. There were no more pages left, and she had read them all. None of it had made sense. None of it. She didn't understand.

She looked down at her cell phone, which rest in her lap. In the middle of the lake, she should be able to get service. She reached down, dialled in a number, and brought the small thing up to her ear hesitantly. Toya picked up on the fourth ring.

"Kaijuu?" he asked groggily.

"Wake up, Oniichan, it's 11am." Sakura scolded lightly.

"No. What is it?"

"Oniichan…" She started, rubbing her arm. "…how did… how did…" her mouth was dry, her lips couldn't move.

"How did what?" he asked after a moment of silence. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

Sakura.

"How did Mom die?"

Toya paused for a moment to catch his breath. "She was… in a car accident." he told her, uncomfortable.

"When did she die, Toya?" Sakura asked. She looked over to see Syaoran coming out of the water and towards her.

"She died on September 3rd, 1987. Why so curious, Sakura? This isn't like you."

Sakura felt numb. "No reason, I'll talk to you later."

"Wh-"

Click.

"I don't get it…" Sakura whispered to herself. Syaoran came to her, his hair wet and body slippery. He gazed at her with concern.

"What don't you get?"

Looking up to him, she felt the world glaze over. "I don't know, but it makes me feel uneasy..."

* * *

_Chapter 7 Preview:_

_"I have to work today! Aaaah!"_

_"We're almost back to Tomoeda, Sakura, calm down!"_

_"But I need to shower!"_

_"Well you live right next to the beach. I'll give you a bath if you want!"_

_"GROSS, SYAORAN." _

_"Not really." _

_"Bleh, at least buy some bubble tea." _

_"I will. Honey Melon, of course."_

_- - -- - - - - - - - - _

**Sorry for the shortness. Chapter 6 was more of a teaser for part 2 of the story. Again, Part 2 focus' on the mystery of her mother. Part 1 was the intro. Part 3 will focus on Syaoran and his relationship with Sakura - slash - his place in the Li Clan. And part 4 will tie it all together. All of it includes their relationship ;) . **

**So you better stick around! This story is getting longer and hopefully better. Sorry about the rushedness, I don't want the Parts to be too long each. **

* * *


	7. I Sense Tension! Yuki & The Brothers 3!

**H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts**

Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

**

* * *

**

**Notes: **AU, no magic stuff. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling._

_  
_**Ages: **Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 21. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. Easy as that!

**Authors Note:** Wow, I AM SO SO SO SO SORRY for no update in like 3 months! My excuse… is lame. I was lazy and slept and went out and I did volleyball 3 times a week all summer, plus my volleyball camp. I apologize deeply, I really do. Here's chapter 7... And a big twist! WINKWINK

* * *

**Chapter 7: I SENSE TENSION - Nakamura Yuki and The Brothers Three!**

* * *

The rest of the trip went by without any horrible incidents, which both confused and relieved Sakura. With her around, something was supposed to happen more than just getting lost in the forest. Maybe falling off a boat, or getting chased by a wild goose, perhaps. But nothing happened, and on this morning, the gang was getting ready to go home.

Sakura stood before the upstairs room, which lead into Sonomi and Jiro Daidouji's room. The handle was calling out to her - to just go, twist it open, and go look at the documents. But could she?

She could.

Quickly and quietly, she slipped closer to the door and touched the handle. It was surprisingly warm. Twisting it, she pushed open the door and stepping in boldly.

"WEI!? Strawberry, you pervert! HENTAI!"

Sakura tried to quickly avert her eyes from Syaoran's half-naked body. There was a white towel covering his lower body but his muscular upper body glistened from the sun peeking through the windows half-opened curtains (why would Syaoran leave curtains open when changing?) and the water droplets on his body.

"I am not!" Sakura exclaimed, her back to the god-like creature behind her. "How the hell am I supposed to know you're in here? No one is allowed except for Tomoyo!"

"Exactly!" Syaoran retorted, running with his clothes behind a big wardrobe. "So why are YOU in here?!"

Sakura exhaled. "I was going to use the washroom. I like it better up here."

Suddenly, Syaoran emerged from behind the wardrobe with a black shirt and dark jeans, his water still damp from the shower. He brought the white towel up to his head, and attempted to dry his hair, but instead made it messier, and incredibly sexy. "Picky, picky." he clicked his tongue.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Get out, Stupid Wolf."

"As you wish," Syaoran told her with a mock bow. "Queen Ichigo."

Queen Strawberry. That didn't sound half bad. Syaoran half-smirked, turning around and leaving the room, the door making an audible click as it shut. With an exhale, Sakura eyed the drawer, then heaved a sigh. With a silent swiftness she had acquired from basketball, (she was the point-guard, and could dribble up and down the court with no noise except for the ball bouncing) she glided over to the drawer and pulled it open.

"What the-" Suddenly, Sakura just wanted to cry. She felt confused and sad, angry and frustrated. The papers weren't there anymore, all that was left was an empty white envelope. Sakura shut it angrily and looked through the others, finding nothing but empty wood.

A knock came to the door - how long had she been rifling through this stuff? "Strawberry!" Syaoran called through the door. "It's time to go, come on."

She opened her mouth to make some sort of noise. A cry? A sob? A grunt? But no noise came out. Instead, she turned her head and eased out of the room.

* * *

The car ride was unexpectedly quiet, with Syaoran's iPod playing song after song. The occasional person sang to it, but it was unusually silent.

"OH MY GOD," Meiling suddenly exclaimed loudly. "Someone talk!"

"Where's Jun?" Sakura asked, emotionless. Syaoran shot her a look but said nothing, finding sudden interest in his cell phone. He propped his elbow up onto the rest, brushing arms with Sakura.

"He's in his own car," Meiling rolled her eyes. "Who cares?"

"Aaah," Sakura half yelled, suddenly sitting up in her seat. "I have to work today!"

"What?" Takashi demanded, looking back at her from the wheel. "What time?"

Sakura thought for a second. "Umm… one o'clock?"

"Calm down, Sakura! We're almost back to Tomoeda!!" Takashi hollered.

"Calm down? You're the only who's yelling…"

Sakura scrunched her eyes together. "Argh… I need to open the shop… and from sitting in here for so long I want to shower again."

Syaoran smiled. "But it's right at the beach. I'LL give you a shower."

"Gross," Sakura stuck her tongue out. "In your dreams."

Something about her words wasn't as sarcastic and cutting as usual. There was a passive tone to her words, and Tomoyo picked up on it quickly.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" she asked with worry, her eyes glinting.

"No, there's nothing."

Tomoyo puffed her cheeks for a second, then let the air out. "Okay," she agreed hesitantly. Then, a cheery tune began to play. "Oh, hold on, my phone." She pulled out a white and light purple slider phone. "Moshi Moshi?"

Sakura eased back into her seat, leaning her head back onto the headrest. It was unusually hard and uncomfortable. Something deep in Sakura was stirring, something that was making her frustrated and sad. And now, she couldn't even be comfortable. Although she had just woken up a while ago, sleep held Sakura in it's clutches. She barely noticed when her head fell, gently onto Syaoran's shoulder.

"Huh?" Syaoran went rigid. Turning his head, he saw the sleeping Sakura, and relaxed his muscles, leaning back into his seat to make sure she was comfortable.

It turned out she was not asleep, because she sighed from her position on Syaoran's shoulder. He looked down at her slightly, without overly moving his neck.

"What's wrong?" he asked, eyeing her.

She sighed again. "So many things."

"What are you talking about?"

Sakura lifted her head up, bringing up her hand and examining her smooth, pale palm. She seemed entranced by it. She held a little sigh, then rested back into her seat, choosing not to answer him.

"Sakura?"

With another inaudible sigh, she looked up at Syaoran and smiled. "That's Strawberry, Dumb Wolf."

Syaoran smiled back. Why did it feel like Sakura was hiding something?

* * *

"SWEET EARTH!" Meiling squealed, on her hands and knees after jumping from the SUV. Then, she glanced back at Takashi and glared. "I thought you were the good driver!'

Eriol laughed. "He is, Meiling," he grabbed her arm and helped her up. "If any of us others had decided to pick up speed by a good 40 kilometres ten minutes ago, we'd probably be flipped over in a ditch."

Meiling stood erectly and her glare became harder at the closed-eyed man. "Fourty kilometres!? You were already going One-twenty! Are you saying you went One-seventy!?"

Takashi nodded.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US!" she screeched, taking off at Takashi, who ran into Kawaii Suihou Ti Cafe. Sakura smiled at them, but then noticed a crowd of teenagers and teenyboppers of about ten standing outside.

"Oh shit!" Sakura exclaimed, racing forward with the key to the café in her hands. "I'm sorry, everyone!"

They did look the least bit mad, but instead smiled at her. "It's okay, Sakura-san," a blue, spiky-haired, older looking kid said. "We just want to game for a few hours, if that's okay."

Sakura smile-smirked at him. "Only if you can beat me in Street Fighter!"

The boy smiled back, his light skin gleaming, but the girls stopped smiling around her. Instead, they all turned their heads, a dreamy expression on their faces. Sakura looked around.

"What's wrong?" she asked, gazing at their eerie expressions.

"Is that…" a girl with brown hair and blue eyes started, staring at Eriol, Syaoran, Tomoyo and the others.

"It couldn't be…" breathed another girl with black hair.

"Is that Li Syaoran!?" screamed one of the girls, with dyed pink and blonde hair. "Oh-Em-Gee, Syaoran Li?!"

Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief. "Did she actually say, oh-em-gee? Like on the internet?" she shook her head. "Kids these days. Get off my lawn!"

Syaoran smiled at them. "Um, yeah. Hi."

"SYAORAN ARE YOU DOING A CON-SIGN MY-CAN YOU-OH MY-" the words that were screamed from their mouths became mangled and clashed.

"Guys," Sakura growled slightly in a commanding voice, which belonged more to her brother than it did her. "This is the anime café. None of this fan girl stuff. You can come in and hang out, but if you make Wo- I mean Syaoran, feel weird, then I will kick you all out."

The boy with the spiky hair grinned. "Come on guys, I need to beat Sakura in Street Fighter."

Sakura smiled gratefully at him, unlocked the door and held it open as everyone walked through.

"Did you know, that the first fan girl was actually not a girl?" Takashi asked the group as they and the girls grumbled along. "It was instead a male-"

"Takashi stop lying!" Chiharu shrieked, lunging for his neck. "How can a fan girl not be a girl?!"

With a small chuckle, Sakura followed the rest inside, taking her place behind the counter. The kids immediately headed over to the couches, which were laid in front of the tv and ps2, yelling about kicking someone's something. Syaoran and the others took a seat on another couch that was on the other side.

After a few minutes alone at the counter, Sakura grumbled. "Yeah, guys! I'm totally not bored and lonely!" she said loudly, twiddling her thumbs.

Meiling popped her head up. "Oh sorry bubble tea girl, can I get a strawberry to go?" she winked at her playfully.

"Haha, very funny."

The door jingled, and everyone looked over, except the kids who were too engrossed in their games. It was Yuri, her long blonde hair whipping around her face from the wind. "Hi Sakura, you're back!"

Sakura nodded, smiled big and waved at her co-worker. "How was the weekend withou-"

"It's so windy!" cried a light voice. A girl walked through the door, jingling the bells hard and accidently pushing Yuri out of the way. The girl quickly turned to Yuri and bowed her forgiveness.

This time everyone turned around to see who it was. Sakura raised her eyebrow curiously at the girl who had walked in. She was a beautiful woman, that much Sakura could admit. Her skin was light and pale, but held no colour - it reminded Sakura of a cancer patient. There was so expression on her face besides curiosity. She had big, unnatural green eyes, her lashes long and dark, with long, wavy waist length honey-brown hair. She was short but long limbed, moving as if she were a dancer, wearing a white shirt with a blue cotton sweater, and brown plaid skirt.

"Uh, yeah," Yuri said from the floor. "How can we help you?"

"Um… auntie sent me here…" she said more to herself than she did to Yuri with a Chinese accent. She scanned the room, her eyes landing on Syaoran. "L-Li Syaoran?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, it's Li Syaoran. Whoooooo." she threw up her hands in mock excitement, almost spilling a cup of sago on herself. Syaoran looked deeply at her, thinking of who she could be. For some reason, he doubted that she was just a simple fan.

"Who are you?" he asked carefully. She took a few steps closer, up the steps, towards the video game area and couches where everyone stood. Sakura, too, walked over to them. No one asked for bubble tea or food, instead they all watched carefully.

The girl seemed to notice, her face become paler. "Diu bu qi, Li Xiaolang…" she mumbled, her head down.

Sakura raised her brow, as did the others that understood Chinese. _I'm sorry, Li Xiaolang? Why would she say that? _

"Again, I ask, who are you?" Syaoran seemed to be more impatient than before.

"My name is… Nakamura Yuki…" she spoke gently, her Chinese accent apparent on her Japanese.

Syaoran gave her a, _uhh okay, _look, and turned his head slightly. "That's great…? What are your relations with me?"

She took a long pause. The clock on the far wall, in the shape of a pocky box, seemed to tick louder than it ever did before, echoing off the walls as everyone watched in interest. There was obvious tension in the air. Although she was quiet, in the silent room, everyone could hear her.

"I'm… your betrothed."

Sakura was seething. And she had no idea why. Yuki and Syaoran had been sitting in the corner together for about twenty minutes now, talking, with their heads bent closely together. She angrily blended some fresh watermelon bubble tea, placed it in the machine that slapped on the plastic lid, glaring daggers at the hunk of metal. Snatching a white bubble tea straw and napkin, she slammed it down on the counter in front of her at Eriol. Who, by the way, looked terrified.

"Calm down, Sakura. I don't really get why you're so mad, anyway." He winked at her, putting an emphasis on the word get.

"Outta my face, Eriol." she almost snarled. Like a beast, or something.

The spiky-haired kid looked up from his games, concern written on his face. "Sakura, you seem beyond pissed. Come and have a street fighter match with me." he smiled.

"Thanks, Daisuke, but I'll pass for now. I might accidentally eat your face off."

Daisuke grinned at her. "Okay, but you owe me." Turning back to his game, he made an audible gasp. "Chiyo! You didn't! You un-paused and killed me?? You cheater!"

Sakura tuned out Daisuke and even tuned out Tomoyo explaining an equation to Takashi. She turned her head to look at Syaoran and Yuki were still talking. She had a hopeful expression on her face, while Syaoran, however, looked appalled.

"How can you just - no, she didn't - why would - no, Yuki-san …" Sakura could only catch a few phrases from him. Leaning closer, she continued her eavesdropping.

"But it's true - I'm so sorry, but I - it has to be this - but, Xiaolang .. - you must - your family .." she replied to him.

Sakura groaned in frustration. "What I wouldn't give for ninja hearing right now." She mumbled to herself. As she finished her sentence, Syaoran's metal chair slid back with a loud scrape, catching everyone's attention. He looked angrier than Sakura had seen him so far, his jaw clenched and eyes hard. Yuki looked miserable.

"No, Nakamura-san," he seethed in a controlled voice. "I can't marry you. I have someone that I like."

_Someone he … who? _

Yuki's misery deepened. "I'm sorry, Xiaolang. If you don't want to marry… then that's your problem. Talk to your mother. There's nothing I can do. When we were kids, you said…"

"You have no right to call me Xiaolang. Things I said as a kid I should not be accounted for now, a decade and more later!" he exploded. He shook, he was so angry. "If we counted everything we said as kids, right now, you'd be a geisha and I'd not have to _marry _you so I can take over the Li Clan! I wouldn't be taking over it AT ALL."

Her eyes watered. Sakura felt a bit sorry for her.

"Xiaolang! Please, just talk to your mother!"

He glared at her. "I will. And then, I never want to see you again."

With a quick turn, he looked at Takashi with a meaningful look in his eye. Takashi grabbed Syaoran's black bag and tossed it to him while everyone looked at him with curiosity.

The door slammed loudly, and Syaoran was gone. It took all of Sakura's willpower to not run after him.

And then -

"Yuri, I'll be back." She gasped out as she jumped over the counter and ran after Syaoran. Yuri stepped back to avoid being hit and widened her eyes. "I take it you're on a break?!" she called out after her.

"Go get 'im, Sak!" Eriol hollered from behind.

Sakura darted out of the store and onto the boardwalk, only to find that Syaoran was nowhere in her line of vision. He hadn't run onto the beach nor down the boardwalk. Sakura turned left and ran down, her head shaking violently as she searched. Then she saw him - sitting on a bench far down from the shop. Running as quickly as she could, she sprinted towards him. Her ability to run 100m in 11.55 seconds came in handy. Syaoran looked up and the concerned looking Sakura, and gazed downwards.

"Wolf, what's going on? Why are you so angry?"

Syaoran glared at her shoes. "How could I not be angry. Once again, my mother is trying to control my life and make my decisions for me."

"Then all you should do right now," Sakura turned and sat next to him, her arm touching his lightly. "Is talk to her."

"My mother?" Syaoran rolled his eyes. "She doesn't talk, she commands. She doesn't listen, she hears. She doesn't love, nor does she care for anything besides family honour and the Li Clan."

Sakura frowned, reaching out a hand and touching the back of hers to his. "I'm sure you're exaggerating?"

Syaoran shook his head. "If my mother could have it her way, I'd stop singing now. I'd stop all the tours. I'd go back to Hong Kong and attend a university there, graduate, and then take over the Li Clan - with Nakamura Yuki as my bride."

Her insides twisted. "Why Nakamura-san?" she asked calmly.

"Nakamura Yuri is the daughter of the multi-billionaire Chinese-Japanese tycoon, Nakamura Lifeng," Syaoran started to explain, running a hand through his hair. "Mother believes that marrying a tycoon will come in handy with the Li Corporation. Not only are they tycoons, but they… well, it's… hard to explain."

_I'm not that stupid. _Sakura said to herself, but she didn't tell Syaoran. "Well… you can always tell me when you want to."

"And right now," Syaoran smiled wearily. "I choose not now."

Sakura smiled to him gently. "Come back to the café. I'll make you a honey-melon bubble tea… on the house."

Syaoran's smile mirrored hers as he stood up, holding out a hand to Sakura. She placed her small hand into his and he lifted her easily. "Alright, Sakura. Thank you."

The first thing Sakura noticed when she walked back into the café, was the beauty ratio had gone down. The presence of a beautiful, brown haired girl had disappeared. Syaoran seemed relieved - not that he showed it - as he walked over to the gang and sat down on the couch, snatching a vacant remote and pressing start. NEW CHALLENGER flashed on the screen, and Takashi looked annoyed, then competitive. Boys.

"Where's that girl?" Sakura asked, looking around the shop. Teens playing games in one side of the café. Syaoran and the others on the other side. A few people sitting at the booths and tables, doing homework. But no long haired beauty.

Yuri looked up once she placed a bubble tea, from the looks of it, Taro, into the bubble tea cap machine. "She left about three minutes after you. She had a call from someone, then bowed, and just left." She took the bubble tea out, and gave it to the elderly customer on the other side of the counter. "Thanks, have a nice day!"

She nodded shakily, walking behind the counter and getting to work on the honey melon bubble tea. She started zoning out, ignoring the distant, "K.O.! HAHA LOSER PAY UP!" in the background.

Yuri tapped her shoulder, knocking Sakura out of her trance. "I need a break, I'll be back in fifteen, okay? It's not that busy."

Sakura nodded. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you later." she smiled, watching Yuri smile back and walk out with the soft sound of her sneakers hitting the marble. When the jingle of the doors quieted, she took the honey melon bubble tea and walked over to Syaoran, who, was losing to Takashi in Soul Caliber IV. "In need of rejuvenation?" she asked him, when the KO flashed on screen. He nodded glumly.

A loud ring tune sounded - a cartoonish voice screaming in Japanese, "Your mom is looking for you! Your dad is looking for you! Your uncle is looking for you! Your grandma is looking for you! Pick up the phone, child!" Tomoyo fished out her phone and slid it open. "Moshi Mo- oh, hello, mother!" she said cheerfully.

Sakura walked back to her perch behind the counter, leaning onto the cold. Tomoyo grabbed her bag and stood up. "I have to go home and help out. My aunt's baby was born while we were camping, so I am going to go and provide some moral support to Auntie Lina's incoherent, 'oh-god-I'm-only-thirty-I-have-a-baby-oh-god's'." she smiled. "Come by later and we can watch some seriously sick Saw IV?"

The gang mumbled a blended mash of yes's, waving to her as she walked to the door. "Chiharu-chan, want to come with?" Chiharu looked up at her. The look on Tomoyo's face was more a plead than a suggestion. Chiharu smiled and nodded, grabbing her bags. "See you guys later," Chiharu grinned, leaning over and kissing Takashi on the cheek before leaving.

Sakura watched in a daze as they left. They opened the door, and as they walked out, in walked, for the second time in two weeks, a very, very attractive boy. Tomoyo and Chiharu stopped and turned back, walking a few steps back into the store.

He was tall, with pale, smooth, blemish-free skin. His black hair was typical for Asian boys, longish, straight and perfect. But his eyes, oh, his eyes, are what captured Sakura. They were blue-gray, the type that even contact lens could not duplicate. He was thin and muscular, the type that could cuddle a girl like Sakura well. Well, any girl, really. He was smiling at Sakura as he walked to her, two others accompanying him. He was flanked by two guys: a tall Korean boy with brown and blonde hair, and another equally tall Chinese-looking man with black hair and coal black eyes.

All three were drool-worthy.

"U-uh, h-hi." Sakura stammered. _No! No time for idiocy! _"What can I get for you three?"

The boy in the middle's eyebrows furrowed. "You look sad. What's wrong?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Nothing."

He smiled gently back at her. "Then, can I get a smile on your face?"

Sakura's lips automatically twitched up into a smile. She noticed, also, in the corner of her eyes, that Syaoran and everyone else in the shop had turned back to witness the scene.

"That's better. Can I get a… honey melon bubble tea?" The guy in the middle grinned. Sakura barely heard a guttural, primitive growl from behind them.

"Sure!" She chirped. The Korean boy with the hair turned to her and gave her an exaggerated wink.

"Can I get your name?" he flashed a killer smile.

Sakura stuck out her tongue at him, letting the tip of her tongue barely peek out from between her lips. "Kinomoto Sakura."

The Korean boy continued to smile. "Jae Young Kim, pleased to meet you Miss. Kinomoto. Can I get a watermelon bubble tea, please?"

"Gotcha." she scribbled down on a piece of paper the orders.

The guy in the middle was still grinning down at her. "My name is Rain Kim-Lee. But… let's knock out the Lee, just call me Rain Kim. I mean Rain, but if you ever find yourself in a situation that you must say my full name, than just Kim will do-"

"Guy," Jae breathed. Then his mouth twitched up into a playful smile. "Overkill. Shut up, dork."

Rain flushed, bringing a hand up and scratching the back of his head.

Sakura giggled, looking up at the last boy, who was the tallest of the three. Straight into his coal-black eyes. She suddenly felt very cold. "A-and you?"

He stared down at her, raising an eyebrow slowly, as if intrigued by something. "Nothing for me." he said curtly, turning around and walking over to a close table, and sitting down.

"O-okay," Sakura managed to smile.

Rain rolled his eyes. "That's Hiro Jin Tan. You can call him Hiro, or Jin, or Tan, but never more than just one at a time. Or so he says."

Jae nodded, sharing the same 'rolling-my-eyes-here' smirk. "We're the Brothers Three." Rain automatically, as if programmed to, reached up and whacked Jae's arm.

"Dude! Not supposed to tell her that. You make us sound like goofs."

Sakura laughed and smiled, typing in a few things on the cash register, then looking up at them. "8.24, for you two."

Rain pulled out a ten from his Lacoste cardholder, mumbling about keeping the change.

"Okay, thanks. Just give me a few minutes to make them."

"No problem, Miss. Kinomoto!" Rain smiled widely, his eyes pleading something. Something silently, and Sakura didn't know what to say.

"Just call me Sakura," she allowed, sliding some watermelon into a blender. "If I can call you guys by your names."

Rain and Jae nodded vigorously. "Okay! Sakura…chan!" Rain smiled.

Sakura flushed, then looked over at Hiro. Hiro looked up and looked back at a paper in his hands. _Cold, _Sakura flinched at Hiro's half-look. _But whatever. _Yuri suddenly materialized by Sakura's side, her hair perfect and smile glued onto her face. "Sakura," she said impatiently. She leaned closer to her, her lips close to Sakura's ear. "I think Syaoran and them want to talk to you."

Sakura turned her attention to her friends, who were all square facing her and The Brothers Three. Each and every one of them had a very curious and pleading expression. Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed, placing the half-made bubble tea in Yuri's hands and walked to her friends tentatively.

"Um… Hi there!" she attempted with a smile.

Syaoran just glared at her. It was Eriol who spoke.

"Kami, Sak'… we just got back and three," Eriol stopped and looked quite thoughtful. "Okay, well two, guys hitting on you."

Sakura's face turned hot. "A-are not…"

"Are so!" Takashi shot back.

Tomoyo, who, still stood near the door, had sometime in the last few minutes pulled out her camcorder. She walked over with Chiharu, her shoes clicking against the tile. "It's true, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's embarrassment deepened. "No way. Stop it, guys."

Syaoran glared again, this time harder, like he was piercing her soul. "Why did you flirt back, huh?"

"Excuse me," Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow. "I did not. And if I was, what's it to you? You're not my mom, my dad, or my boyfriend."

The look on Syaoran's face quickly altered from anger, to a more startled expression. "E-excuse me?"

_SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! _Sakura's mind screamed. _BAD WORDS. BAD WORDS, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! COME BACK TO ME, WORDS!_

Then, his eyes narrowed. "Huh. That's true, isn't it?"

The tension was thick in the air. Tomoyo and Chiharu looked at the scene before them from the camcorder's digital screen. Takashi scratched at his face uncomfortably. Sakura didn't know what to say. She just stared as Syaoran's eyes narrowed into venomous slits.

"I'm going home. I'll see you guys later."

He didn't even look at Sakura's face as he got up to leave. Sakura stared at his empty space on the couch.

"Owch! What the hell?"

Sakura snapped out of her trance, looking back at the noise. The end of Syaoran's black Diesel shirt fluttered out the door, and halfway inside was Jun, looking startled and confused. Sakura's head was swimming, tears prickling at her eyes as she replayed the events.

Rain.

Jae.

Hiro.

She suddenly felt bile rise up in her throat as she thought about what Jun had said.

"_I guess anything can happen." Then, he locked his eyes with her, slipping his hand over Sakura's. "Anything…"_

Sakura's eyes narrowed into a glare at no one in particular. _Well, Jun was right. I totally didn't see this fight coming on. Or Yuki Nakamura. Or The Brothers Three._

"Hoe…" Sakura said to herself.

"This sucks." Eriol sighed.

Everyone nodded their agreement.

_Looks like I'm pulling something out of my butt for this one. _

* * *

Chapter 8 Preview

"_Don't talk to me, Sakura." _

"_I didn't do anything wrong!" _

"_Oh really, now?" _

"_Yes really! What I said was the truth… and the truth is your fault." _

"_Sakura, if I kissed you right now, would you pretend I was Rain, or Jae? What would you do, huh?!" _

"…_I… I would kiss you back." _

* * *

Apologies for the long ass update! Freal, I'm so so so so sorry. I hope you liked this chapter, I hope I still have readers… - sad face -

Please review! No more long breaks, hopefully. It's volleyball season, soo… NO . NO MORE EXCUSES! HOEEE…

To make it up to you guys, I'm actually working on drawings for the story... starting with the entrance of the three hunks, the Brothers Three! ; )

- Yukiie


	8. It's Not What It Seems! Legacy

**H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts**

Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

* * *

**Notes: **AU, no magic stuff. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling.  
_**Ages: **Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 21. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 20. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. Easy as that!

**Authors Note:** No excuse for my stupidly late chapter. I hope there are still readers out there. I'm sorry! Thank you to all who reviewed! You brighten my day!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Legacy **

* * *

Sakura turned from her friends quickly, walked swiftly behind the counter, and helped Yuri finish making bubble tea. Rain, Hiro, and Jae looked a little uncomfortable.

"Ah… ah, sorry Sakura-chan… did we cause you trouble?" Jae asked, looking like a little child whose mother just stubbed her toe.

Sakura looked up, forcing a bright smile on to her face. "Don't worry, it will be fine."

Rain shook his head. "It _will _be fine, but it isn't right now. Which means you must feel bad right now."

Grabbing a red-pink coloured drink, she took a straw and napkin and handed it to Jae. "Watermelon," she trailed off, grabbing another bubble tea. "And… h-honey melon…" she said glumly, handing the drink to the sky-eyed boy. The two of them walked to the table where Hiro was seated, a few feet away from the front counter.

"Sakura-chan," Eriol called over from the couch. Sakura looked up to see that he was looking intently at his cell phone screen. "Akizawa Mina-san texted me to remind you that the gold match for volleyball is still tomorrow, June Eighth, even though we have tomorrow off, and the after-party later that night."

"I would never forget," Sakura smiled lightly. "And then, that leaves a week of classes, and we're finally done for this year!"

"Sugoi…" Rain whispered from in front of her, his eyes looking at Sakura, then Hiro, then Sakura. "Hiro, you were right."

Sakura looked at them. "Huh?"

"When we walked in, Rain told us that you looked familiar," Rain explained. "And he was right!"

"H-how?" Sakura asked, her face warming up.

Jae smiled widely. "You're that girl on the Tomoeda's Volleyball Team - I think it was… number eleven?" he blushed a little, sipping at his bubble tea, big black blobs coming up through the translucent straw.

Sakura smiled again, both embarrassed and flattered. "That's a little creepy, guys…"

"That may be, but we're volleyball fans. We're going to try out next semester, of course! We moved here from Chiba, that's why we've seen you, when you came to play at Chiba University. You guys did so good! Sakura, your winning spike was amazing. All your spikes were. Everything. You stuck out on the team, that's where we saw you." Jae explained, gushing. Sakura was flustered.

Rain continued, looking pointedly at Takashi. "And you! You're the captain of the boys team! I think I remember trying to get your spike up, and failing hopelessly."

Takashi opened his eyes. "Really? I actually don't remember!"

Sakura hadn't realized that her friends had walked over to them, gather around and at the table. Meiling sat next to Hiro, her red eyes flicking towards each of the boys. "So you mean you're going to come to Tomoeda University next semester?"

Jae nodded. "Yes. Do you all go there?"

"Yeah," Meiling smiled friendlily. "My name is Yang Meiling. This is… well you know Yamazaki Takashi, Mihara Chiharu, Hirigizawa Eriol, Daidouji Tomoyo, and Everard Jun. Are you guys going to watch the game tomorrow? Because if you do, you have to come to the after party."

Rain hesitated. "Well… that depends. Details, details."

The sun outside the large picture windows was blazing, the beach was filling up fast, and Sakura knew that lots of customers would be coming in very soon. She sighed, then looked back at the group.

Takashi grinned. "Did you know that beach volleyball was first played with coco- ow!" Chiharu whacked him over the head and then poked him with a new straw.

"You idiot, you told us that story a long time ago, back in elementary!"

Takashi opened his eyes and looked at Chiharu. "You remember that much about me, Chiharu?"

Chiharu blushed. "Sh-Shut up, you baka…"

The gang chuckled knowingly at the two. They had been together for years and years, since elementary. A lot of people didn't believe them when Chiharu or Takashi told them, but it was the truth.

"Kay, well, tomorrow we're going up against Tokyo U," Jun grimaced at their name. "They're undefeated so far."

"I heard that Tomoeda U was undefeated as well?" Rain asked, looking perplexed. His cell phone on the table vibrated just a little but he ignored it.

"That is almost correct. We've won all games… except once, against Tokyo U. They won by 2 points - Thirty to Twenty Eight, in the last set." Meiling frowned. "But tomorrow we must beat them!"

Hiro smirked. "I'm there. I have to see a game like this. Where is it?"

Meiling's frown turned a pleasured grin. "Tomoyo is all about school spirit. She's rented out three busses for any students that want to go see the game at Tokyo. The busses leave tomorrow from school and many of us will be staying over night there, since there will be an after party… if we win. For those who don't want to stay for the after party, depending on how many people there are, those will go on one bus and leave."

"Sounds really exclusive and expensive…" Hiro trailed off.

"Don't even worry," Tomoyo said with her signature closed-eye smile. "This is for all the students, for friends, for anyone who wants to watch and wants to party afterwards!"

"Are you in?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I'm in." Rain smirk-smiled.

"Me too." Jae grinned, bringing up his slender hands and flashing a peace sign.

Hiro simply grunted. Eriol's lips formed a thin line as he glanced out the door, thinking about Syaoran.

"Great!" Sakura smiled. But somewhere deep inside her, she felt as if she couldn't play. Like something was missing.

* * *

First thing in the morning, Sakura wasn't late this time. But she was incredibly groggy. And Incredibly, incredibly tangled up in her sheets. The sheets twisted around her body and ankles, and when she tried getting up she wound up falling to the floor in a flash of pink, yelling, "HOOEEE!"

The pain subsided quickly, but she did not get up. She cuddled into her blanket. "Sleep…" she muttered. Then, Kero began to lick her face.

"Okay, okay, I'm up."

Freeing herself from the monster that was her sheets, she stood up and looked at the time. Eight o'clock - she had a little bit of time before she had to go meet up with everyone at Tomoeda University. Leaning down, she picked up Kero and cuddled him to her chest. "Ohayo, Kero-chan. How did you sleep last night?"

He made a comforting sound into her chest and she took that as a positive answer. Setting him down on her bed, she stretched like a mutated cat and then walked off into the shower, her tired body slowly getting pumped up.

Pumped up. Game… Gold… Gold Medal!

Suddenly she was rushing again, rubbing shampoo quickly into her hair, washing it out, cleaning her body and brushing her teeth. She tried putting her socks on at the same time she slipped her tank top over her head, Kero looking up at her as if to say, _Sakura, that won't work._

Sakura looked in the mirror, wearing only a white tank top and black panties. "I'm ready." she told herself. "To kick some ass!"

Then she paused. "Slow down, Sakura. Once I get my clothes on." she moved over to her stereo and turned on some music.

_'Cause sometimes you feel tired,  
feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.  
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength  
and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up  
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse… _

Sakura slipped her blue, white, and silver uniform shirt on, the big eleven on the front and back of her jersey shining up delicately. Then she pulled a long-sleeved Blue and White warm-up shirt over that. Her spandex and jeans were next. She crawled on her knees to look under her bed, then reached under and pulled out a blue and silver bag embroidered with the words TOMOEDA VOLLEYBALL. Sakura also had to pack for the after party and over night trip, placing some folded club clothes into it, pajamas, makeup, panties, and all the other necessities. Then, at the top, she put her kneepads in, and her half-new volleyball shoes to the side of those. Zipping it shut, she looked at herself. Her face was clean and makeup free, her hair was long and straight, and she looked like she was ready.

But she didn't feel like it. Something was missing.

_Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out  
Till my legs give out, can't shut my mouth.  
Till the smoke clears out - am I high? Perhaps  
I'ma rip this shit till my bone collapse… _

The music was just right. It was for today. It was her "pre-game pump up music." And yet…

_Until the roof  
The roof comes off  
Until my legs  
Give out from underneath me  
I will not fall,  
I will stand tall,  
Feels like no one could beat me._

She shut her eyes tightly. "WE WILL WIN!" she shrieked, stopping the music and grabbing her bag violently. "WE WILL BEAT THEM!" Picking Kero up, she kissed him on his nose and ran out the door, meeting Toya on the driveway.

"Let's go, Kaijyuu. Time to kick some Capital ass!" he exclaimed, leaning on the door of his car.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sakura cheered, running to her side of the car. She tried to open the door, but failed. "Toya?"

He looked at her, his eye twitching. "I'll only open the door if you promise never to do that again."

She winked. "Kay."

He pressed a button on his car remote and the door unlocked, Sakura opening it and sitting into the cushiony bucket seats. Toya followed suit and pushed his key into the ignition, then turned it, the car roaring to life. Sakura leaned back into the bucket seats and closed her eyes, and sighed.

"It seems like something is the matter, Kaijyuu. What's wrong? You're about to go play Tokyo U! For the Gold!" he exclaimed, very out of character. "Don't tell me you're nervous?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. Not yet, at least. I don't know what's wrong! I feel so weird."

Toya blew out a sigh. "Get it together Kaijyuu, we're gonna be there soon. I won't ride in the busses, I'm going with Nakuru and some others. We'll meet you there at 1 - that's when the game starts, right?"

"Yep. You better not be late, Onii-chan." she warned. Because of the closeness of the university and her home, they were pulling up to the front of the large university's campus. It seemed like a hundred people were outside, filing into the busses, trying to stick with friends and such. Toya grinned. "Alright Sak, see you later."

Sakura shut the door behind her as she walked towards the crowd. She spotted her friends among the crowd of volleyball players (both the boys and girls' teams) and cheerleaders. Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko were all dressed in their cheer outfits, as was the rest of the team. The boy's team players, which included Takashi, were also in uniform, only to represent the school and the team they were cheering on, since they had just recently won silver. They'd lost to Tokyo U - no wonder they were fired up. Tomoyo stood by cheerfully, capturing every moment of the exciting day on tape. Eriol smiled his unreadable smile, standing next to Tomoyo. Sakura noticed that Jae, Rain and Hiro were also there, socializing with almost everyone in the crowd, floating from a small group of people to the next. Syaoran was not among them, however.

She almost sighed out loud, but Tomoyo decided to scream her name, causing almost everyone to turn to her and smile; some in envy, some in happiness, some in relief. "Sakura-chan!"

"Hey, everyone." Sakura smiled. She felt like it was the right thing to do.

"READY TO GO!?" Takashi yelled from behind Tomoyo. He jumped, but he definitely didn't need to. The boy was just too tall.

Sakura raised her hand in the air and fisted. "YES!" she screamed excitedly. The students that had come out to watch the game cheered back in response. Satisfied, Sakura began to walk over to the bus that the volleyball members, cheer team and friends of those would be on. Meiling bounced over to her and wrapped her arms around Sakura, clad in her own uniform, the number 4 shining out against the sunlight.

"Sakura! Are you ready? Please tell me you're angry - you'll hit them in the face if you are!"

Sakura laughed but shook her head. "No, not really. But where is Syaoran?"

Meiling cocked her head. "No idea, but he's got money coming out of his… orifices. All of them. So, he'll get there by himself one way or another. He told me he'd be there."

Sakura felt disappointed for a second. She felt so un-pepped up for the game and she knew Syaoran could probably help her cheer up. But after what happened yesterday …

"Sakura, Sakura-chan! I have the sexiest outfit for you for the after-party. Every male on the campus will see you even if they aren't coming, and OHOHOH you'll be worshipped, not to mention…"

"Tomoyo! You're rambling. When do the busses leave?" Sakura chuckled, switching the shoulder her duffle bag rested on. A small ache remained where her bag previously was.

"Oh - well… right now. Everyone who signed up to come is here - plus or minus some. Mostly plus," Tomoyo puffed her cheeks out in frustration. "Honestly, if they wanted to go they should have signed up before. We've had to squeeze three or four to a seat in almost all the busses."

Meiling rolled her eyes playfully. "At least we have fans. As many as the guy's team had at the home game gold match."

Takashi, who stood several feet away, sighed painfully. "What a sad, sad loss." He looked like a dog who'd been kicked, standing in a line waiting to get onto the bus. A member of the guy's team turned around and smacked him in the head.

"Are you kidding me?" The guy barked. "That was such a close game!"

"If they hadn't killed fifty percent of their spikes we'd have been fine!" Takashi sighed. Captain Takashi, that was him.

The teams, cheerleaders and close friends began to file onto bus number three. She stood next to Tomoyo, who clutched her video camera tightly, taking in the pleasant atmosphere.

"A-Ano, Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura started, reaching out and covering the lens with her fingers.

Tomoyo looked up from behind the screen. "Yes, Sakura-chan?" she tried to pry the video camera out of Sakura's hands.

"Are you _sure _Syaoran is coming?" she asked tensely.

"Ohohohohohoho!" Tomoyo cackled. "Why do you ask, Sakura-chan?"

She looked away and filed onto the bus. It was a good hour ride to Tokyo U, and Sakura took that time to reflect. To think.

Mostly about a certain amber-eyed boy.

* * *

The crowd was amazing. Sakura had never seen one so large. They were already screaming and cheering. For safety purposes, the cheerleaders were in the stands instead of on the floor (incase someone needed to run and get up an impossible ball), and they too were screaming at the top of their lungs.

Sakura drowned them out during their warmup. Her only thoughts were _pass, pause… run, jump hit. _The whistle blew signalling there was three minutes until the start of the game. Finally, she walked to Tomoeda's bench and downed some water. Looking up, she saw that Tokyo U students filled one side of the bleachers, and Tomoeda's on the other side of the gym. At the front of Tomoeda's spectators, she saw her friends - Rika, Naoko, Tomoyo, Eriol, Takashi, Jun, Rain, Hiro, Tan, Toya, Nakuru, Yukito and Toya's friends. A white spark of sadness hit her briefly when she saw the lack of … Syaoran.

"Kinomoto! Get your head in the game. Focus!" Coach Clow called to her. She jogged to him, as did the rest of the team.

"Alright, we're gonna play this game like we know how to! We'll win, only if we play our best." he assured them. "Any words, Captain?" he asked, glancing at Ashiya Kaori.

Kaori shook her short red hair our of her eyes. "No, Coach. We've got this. We'll win," she smiled at the team. "Alright, Sakura-chan, Meiling-chan, you're our starting powers. Linna-chan and Mika-chan will start as middles, myself and Reimi-chan, are setting. Watch for our hand signals for plays… and let's just crush them. We sure know how the hell to do it!"

The others jumped and grinned, cheering. "Alright, guys! Tomoeda on 1. 3, 2, 1..."

"TOMOEDA!"

Shrieks and hollers came from the audience. The whistle sounded and the team stepped out onto the court, shaking hands with the other team. _"We'll win." _Sakura told herself. _"We have to."_

* * *

And for a while, it seemed like they would. It was the final set, and everyone was beginning to get tired. The score was tied at 12-12. Sakura wanted to scream out loud - and not just screaming for a ball she was going to get. Most of her spikes had been weak, and the setter had to move a bit to receive her horrible passes.

The shriek of the whistle filled her eyes. "Sub for Tomoeda!"

_What? _Sakura looked over to the bench. There, a tall girl named Aya Lee nodded at Sakura, and Sakura felt her face flush.

She had never, ever been pulled off in the heat of the game.

She shuffled off, giving Aya a low five and proceeded to Clow, who was waving her over.

"Kinomoto, what's wrong? You're not doing amazing as usual. Is something on your mind?"

Sakura shook her head. _Well, Syaoran's not here cheering with all our friends, for one. _

"Kinomoto… we need you in there. Your fiery passion can help us win. Take a seat and cool off, or whatever is bothering you."

She numbly shuffled over to the bench and sat down. _I can't believe it. _

_How could he not show up. He said he would! … I … why did I say that yesterday? I'm so stupid. I can't bel- _

"SAKURA!!!!" the screams cut off her thoughts. Startled, she looked up. "SAKURAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The usually dimmer, fluorescent lights seemed to lighten as a panting, tired, and weary looking Syaoran leaned over the railings, screaming.

"Sakura! I know you can do it!" Tomoyo screamed. "Wake up!"

"Sakura! _I BELIEVE IN YOU!" _Syaoran added. As he hollered, he tumbled forwards but was pulled backwards by Takashi and Eriol. They leaned over and whispered into his ear. He nodded and stood flat on his feet.

"Put Sakura back in! Sakura!" People began to scream. "GO TOMOEDA!"

She flushed. Looking up at the scoreboard, she saw it was now 22-19. She stomped her Mizuno's on the floor and walked quickly and gracefully to Coach Clow. "Please put me back in, Coach."

A fire burned in her like never before. Clow took one look at her and nodded. "Don't let me down, Sakura. Sub!" He called once Tomoeda scored another point, via Meiling smashing a spike into the ground.

_22-20 _

Sakura went back in, trading with Aya. The team rotated, and Meiling jump-served. Sakura was impressed by Meiling. She was sure that if that serve had hit the floor there would have been a crater left in it's path. An American woman received it, and Sakura trailed the ball as one of the girls spiked it down. Diving to the left, Sakura dug the ball and it spun wildly up to Kaori. Sakura hopped up quickly and backed up as Kaori set it up for her. A perfect set. Running at the net, she jumped up, and slinging her arm back, she struck at the ball with a force she'd never known before. It hit the floor on Tokyo's side as two girls dove at it and hit each other rather than the ball.

Sakura swelled with pride.

_Sakura 1, You 0! _

The audience erupted into cheers (Tomoeda) and screams of dismay (Tokyo) but the game went on.

Her eyes trailed up to Syaoran, who looked whiter than snow but smiled weakly at her. Sakura grinned back at him.

The game was done. Totally and completely. When Kinomoto Sakura got her groove on - nothing would stop her.

* * *

The first thing Sakura did after they had shook hands with the other team, was run at her friends who were all screaming for her. Dashing at them, she found Syaoran and jumped into his muscular arms, and he in turn spun her.

"We won! We won!"

They were all screaming. A flush crossed Syaoran's face and he set her down, looking away.

"Time to fucking party!" someone screamed behind them. All of Tomoeda shrieked in response.

Looking up at the clock, Sakura saw the time - 3:44 pm. Tomoyo looked at Takashi and whispered something in his ear.

"EVERYONE, INCLUDING ANY TOKYO U STUDENTS; WE HAVE A CLUB RENTED OUT FOR THIS NIGHT IN PARTICULAR. EVERY OVER AT LEGACY NIGHT CLUB AT 10 PM TONIGHT. PARTY ROCKS FROM 10 TILL THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING! BE THERE!"

More screams. Sakura was beginning to think she'd be deaf for sure.

"Thank you Meiling and Sakura!" Takashi high-fived her. "Now Tomoeda University is redeemed!"

Sakura grinned. "You guys should have won anyway."

"Your comeback was amazing, Sakura-san," Rain blushed. "It was remarkable. And Meiling-san, you were on fire the entire game!"

Meiling smiled hugely. "Thanks! And it's just Meiling, Rain!"

"Just Sakura," Sakura added. "And now, I'm heading back to the hotel to sleep for a few hours, so I'll see you guys at the club at ten?"

Everyone murmured their agreement. "I'm coming with you, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo smiled. "First let's go shopping for clothes tonight!"

But that look in Tomoyo's eyes said otherwise.

When they returned to the hotel, Sakura stalked into the elevator and leaned against the wall tiredly. Tomoyo stood silently next to her.

"Sakura-chan…"

So much for silence.

"Yes, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked, not opening her eyes. The elevator beeped and opened the door to their floor. They stepped out together and headed down the hall to their shared room with Meiling.

"Do you like Syaoran?"

Okay, even getting spiked in the gut didn't startle Sakura this badly.

"N-no," she replied without thinking. She swiped the key card into the lock and the door opened. She stepped into the beautiful hotel, where floor to ceiling windows overlooked the beautiful downtown Tokyo. The hotel room was a suite, like a miniature apartment. There were three rooms, one for each girl, a mini-kitchen and a living room to hang out in. Sakura couldn't appreciate the amenities, however. "Of course not!"

Sakura glanced at a digital clock on the wall. The red numbers burned a 8:03 into the wall. "It's… um time to get ready."

Tomoyo pursed her lips but didn't press her. Instead she smiled brightly and lifted up the many shopping bags in her hands. "Only if I get to dress you!"

"H-hoe…"

"HEY! ABOUT TIME!"

Meiling pounced into the room, her long black hair wet and flowing to her waist. It was nearly as long as Tomoyo's. A small white towel was wrapped around her lithe body and she winked at them. "Now we can get ready together! This is gonna be so fun! Just like the festival!"

Sakura groaned. "No! NOOOOOO!"

Like her two friends would let her refuse.

* * *

Two hours, makeup, clothes and shoes later, the three girls were ready. Sakura ran a hand through her silky-straight back-length auburn hair and flushed.

"I feel… too… I don't know, like 21?"

Tomoyo cackled. "That's the idea!"

Sakura turned to the floor length mirror again, her friends next to her. Sakura was wearing bold pink tank top with cherry-blossom designs on the sides and near the bottom with a tight black dress-vest , shimmering out into a silver. It cut off a few centimetres below her belly button, showing off the bottom of her flat stomach. Then she wore low-rise black rock and republic jeans with a shimmery wash that hugged her thighs and flared out slightly at the calves but nothing hardcore. Meiling tried to get her into heels but she opted for Adidas hightops. Her face was the picture of perfection - her skin was pale and perfect with a light natural blush in her cheeks, her eyes lined with black liner and eyelashes flaring out. In contrast to her dark clothing she had on a light gray eye shadow.

Next to her, Meiling's hair was in their signature buns. She wore a red halter top with a black dragon swirling from the back to the front, and dark wash true religion skinny jeans and heels. Her confident vibe radiated from her, and her sexy, smirking lips were glossy. She had dark eye shadow and her eyeliner was simple but worked.

Tomoyo, who Sakura had always thought was incapable of being sexy because she was just too serene, looked HOT. Her long hair was stick straight and her face was made up like Sakura's but her eye shadow was violet. She wore a white jacket that buttoned up her neck and covered her arms but the entire upper body area was missing. It wrapped around the back and came around to the front and buttoned again near her belly button and downwards. Inside she wore a plan violet tank top, that came dangerously close to showing the very top of her cleavage. With it, she had on black diesel jeans and low dark-purple heels.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but we look sexy," Meiling breathed, taking her camera out of her purse. She snapped a picture of them in the mirror. "And hell, Tomoyo, leave it to you. That jacket, oh my god."

Tomoyo smiled proudly. "Leave it to Tokyo to have the best fashion."

"Shall we go?" Sakura smiled proudly. "Everyone left a while ago, but we can walk there from here."

"Let's go!"

The three women strutted proudly out of the hotel and down to the club, Legacy. From outside, she saw lines of people trying to get in. Sakura recognized Tomoeda U students AND Tokyo U students mingling happily together. Sakura was about to get in line when Tomoyo pulled her straight towards the door. A tall, huge bouncer looked down at them. "Names?"

"Daidouji Tomoyo, Li Meiling, and Kinomoto Sakura," she told him. "Hi!"

He didn't even look at the list. "Oh! Go right on in. All your friends are in a private booth."

And they did.

The music from outside had been loud enough, but as they walked inside, they found it was even louder. Bass pumped in her ears. A trance song had just ended and hip hop came on - dozens and dozens of people went on the dance floor and started shaking their bodies. Many stopped to say hello to Sakura, Meiling and Tomoyo but continued their dancing.

It was hot inside. Sakura glanced at the side, and in a private booth, as the bouncer had said, were their friends. They headed over to them, sliding in next to them. Sakura saddled in next to her favourite wolf.

"Wow, Sakura, you look nice," Jae was the first to pipe. "Meiling, Tomoyo, you too. Everyone looks so sexy."

"Naoko, Rika and Chiharu look fine as well!" Takashi added. Chiharu whacked him, wondering why she was last.

"I know, but I already complimented them when they first came in!" Jae smiled proudly.

"Did you know, that compliments first started in the cave man days? When cave men -"

"BAKA! LIAR!" Chiharu exclaimed, throttling her boyfriend's neck.

Sakura giggled at her friends.

Meiling was shaking her leg to the music, and annoyed, she suggested, "Let's go dance!"

Rain shook his head. "Before we do that, let's get a round of shots to celebrate the victory of Tomoeda U!" He proclaimed. He raised his hand. "Bartender! A round of shots please!"

The bartender came quickly, and slapping a bill on the tray, Rain rose his shot glass. "To Tomoeda U, for winning the gold, and to Tokyo U, for being worthy opponents!" he cried loudly, standing up. Everyone in the club that heard him rose their glass and cheered, gulping down their drinks.

"Now," Jun said, "Let us dance!"

The gang cheered and went up to the dance floor. They didn't realize it, but people cleared the way for them so they ended up in the middle of the dance floor, dancing and singing and laughing. Sakura managed to get a good look at the Wolf as he danced; as usual, tall, god-like, and amazingly gorgeous. His hair was straight and messy on his head as usual, and his amber eyes shone. He looked more rested than earlier, and he wore a trendy black Armani dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his collar popped. With the sleeves rolled up, it defined his muscular arms. He, like everyone who wore pants, was wearing dark diesel jeans and Nike high tops. Sakura melted. Oh, how she wanted to fall into those arms.

The gang danced for what could have been ten or twenty minutes, they were lost in the abyss of time. As the song changed and changed, the bass went harder and then softer. Sakura couldn't tell the difference between the bodies of everyone around her. She wasn't drunk, she'd only had one shot, but - everything moulded together into bliss.

After a while, she went back to the booth with Tomoyo, Rain, and Eriol.

"Oh my gosh! It's only 11 and I'm having SO much fun. I don't ever want to leave!" Sakura giggled. "This is just all too great!"

Rain smiled. "Oh, do I know what you mean. We should do this more often."

Tomoyo pondered this. "Well, Tokyo is only an hour away. We could come back if we wanted to!"

Pulling Tomoyo to him, Eriol nuzzled her hair. "Sounds good."

Tomoyo blushed. "B-baka, are you drunk?"

He winked. "Maybe a little. Let's go and dance the alcohol away, Tomoyo!" He dragged her off before she could say anything.

Sakura eased back into the seat. Coming back and clubbing sounded like heaven. "Having fun, Rain?"

Rain smiled. "Sakura-chan, do you like Syaoran?"

_Gut, meet cannonball. Cannonball, this is my gut. _

"W-w-what!" she sputtered, hitting her fist on the table. "What is _with _everyone today!"

He just smiled sincerely, and reached out a hand to place on her fist. "Sakura-chan, you should tell him. Now."

Sakura looked away. "Why? We're… like, in a fight or something."

"Talk to him."

She hesitantly looked back into his eyes, and something just told her she should. The look in Rain's sincere eyes said so. She smiled. "Okay! Thank you, Rain…"

Glancing up, she looked for Syaoran. It wasn't hard. He was on the edge of the dance floor staring at her, or rather, her hand, which was covered by Rain. A look of distaste and hurt seized his gorgeous features and he turned away.

_Oh SHIT! _

She jumped up and ran to her wolf.

"Syaoran-kun!"

He ignored her as he kept walking towards the door. It wasn't hard by the time he got near the door. Everyone had gotten in and there was only the bouncer by the door.

"Syaoran!"

He kept walking. Sakura kept chasing.

"Wolf! _X-Xiaolang!" _

Syaoran turned suddenly to glare down at her. She ran smack into his chest, and he towered over her intimidating.

"Don't talk to me, Sakura." his words were colder than snow.

Sakura's eyebrows turned up in a sad expression. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Oh really, now?" Syaoran's amber eyes flicked dangerously, the gold flecks in his eyes flashing.

"Yes really! What I said yesterday, Syaoran… it's only the truth. And the truth is your fault."

The words were engraved in Syaoran's head. _"I did not. And if I was, what's it to you? You're not my mom, my dad, or my boyfriend."_

He sighed exasperatedly, violently grabbing her shoulders and looking deep into her emerald eyes. _"_Sakura, if _Li Syaoran_ kissed you right now, would you pretend I was Rain, or Jae?" he bit. "What would you do, huh?!"

She looked down and thought for a moment. This time, Sakura looked up, straight into his eyes. Amber met emerald in a shock of emotions. She chose her words carefully, her small hands coming up and gripping the front of his black dress shirt.

"…I… I would kiss you back. Li Syaoran. No one else."

The grip on Sakura's shoulders loosened, and Syaoran looked into her eyes for truth. No more lies. He searched them. He found pain, agony, happiness, excitement. From what he could feel from her shoulders, her body was also warming. His amber eyes stared at her intensely as he leaned down to her face. With the bass pumping behind them, Sakura's heart sped faster than it, and she clutched his shirt tighter. _Li Syaoran. Syaoran… _

They were a whisper away. Only the thinnest rice paper would have fit between their lips. One of his large, soft hands reached up to touch the side of her face. She melted into it, and could have stayed like that forever. _Kiss me… _

Then, he tilted her face sideways and kissed the corner of her mouth. Sakura's heart plummeted.

Syaoran looked into her eyes for a moment before looking away. He touched her arm lightly, leading her back into the club.

"…Let's go back inside." he said quietly, barely audible over the music. His hand slid from her arm down to her hands, and he squeezed it tightly before letting go and placing his hand on her waist, leading her back into the club where their friends awaited.

* * *

**Chapter 9 Preview:**

"_Well, it's summer time! Where are we going, guys?" _

"_I'm thinking beaches. Sun. Fun!" _

"_Hong Kong!" _

"_To see my mother, hell no!" _

"_Korea!" _

"_TOO MUCH STARCRAFT!" _

"_California?" _

"_Man, we'll never decide." _

* * *

Okay, so, I'm really sorry for not updating in a forever. I'll really put effort into writing this again, so I'll try and update for often, okay? But, there are lots of exams coming up, and these exams are crazy important. It should be fine though, so I hope you guys stick around! I love the reviews I get for this story. It really motivates me. I re-read them, and was like… wow, I need to get going!

Please don't hate me! No, Syaoran and Sakura don't kiss yet! Sorry! Just wait, the story is JUST getting started. Whee~!

PLEASE REVIEW! I'll update faster if you do, promise!

- yuukie .


	9. Kill Me Now! Last Week of Exams!

**H o n e y M e l o n , For The Gooey Tea Addicts**

Meet Sakura, an ordinary university girl working at the bubble tea shop.  
Now meet Syaoran; heir to the Li Corporation, Pop Idol, and the new guy at Tomoeda Uni.  
Love can come from the strangest places, starting with a honey-melon bubble tea... SS ET CT TN

* * *

**Notes: **AU, no magic stuff. **EDIT! EDIT! EDIT! **Although there are implications at the Li Clan having magic, it will not be anything important in the story. _Meiling and Syaoran are not related. So, Syaoran's name is Li Syaoran, and Meiling's name is Yang Meiling.  
_**Ages: **Sakura, 20. Syaoran, 20. Eriol, 21. Tomoyo, 20. Toya, 24. Yukito, 24. Nakuru, 23. Takashi, 20. Chiharu, 19. Naoko, 19. Naoko, 20. Meiling, 21.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. Easy as that!  
**Authors Note:** New chapter! Hope you like it. (BTW, I have a feeling this story will be quite long. 30 chapters or so.)

* * *

**Chapter 9: Kill Me Now! Last Week of Exams!**

* * *

"Sakura, have another drink!"

"Drink's on me, beautiful!"

"I got this one. Drink away!"

These were the things Kinomoto Sakura remembered in the morning. Of course, this was after she had woken up with a killer headache, a sore stomach, dizzy, and about to puke.

"My head!" Sakura gasped out, clutching at her auburn hair when the water from the showerhead hit her, "Who the hell let me drink so much yesterday?"

Meiling walked into their hotel suite's bathroom, rubbing her temples. "Ditto. It feels like I got ran over by a freight truck."

Only Tomoyo walked in, showered and dressed, smiled, and chirpily said, "Good morning, everyone!"

"Please don't make so much noise, Tomoyo-chan!" Meiling whined, grabbing her tooth brush.

"Maybe you guys shouldn't have drank so much," Tomoyo grinned. "I have it _all _on video."

For once Sakura didn't care. "That's great, you can show it to us when I'm done puking my brains out," she called from inside the shower. She closed her eyes and let the hot water shower her body in bliss, aside from the headache. "When are we leaving?"

Tomoyo leaned against the door as Meiling spit out the toothpaste in her mouth. "Busses are leaving in half an hour, so you two better hurry."

"Yes, mother," Meiling muttered sarcastically. Hung over Meiling was not a lot of fun. She left the washroom to go change her clothes, leaving Sakura finishing up in the shower and Tomoyo standing at the door frame.

"I'm so happy my dad could rent out the entire hotel for the school."

Sakura's head pounded. _Tomoyo-chan's father? Daidouji Jiro? … _

"I don't think I've ever met your father, Tomoyo-chan, maybe once or twice," Sakura told her, washing the conditioner out of her hair. "What kind of man is he?"

She shrugged in response. "Well, he's kind and nice, and he's actually always around but working in his office. I don't understand why you haven't seen him," Tomoyo explained, going into the linen closet and getting a towel for Sakura. "I look the most like him, though. And my mother said I look like your mom, probably because our mothers are cousins."

"But I'm at your house all the time, how come I've never seen him?" Sakura called from in the shower. She turned off the water and grabbed the towel that Tomoyo was holding from the top of the shower door for her. Wrapping it around her body, she opened the door and looked at Tomoyo.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I guess he's just never there when you are," she giggled. "Sakura-chan, you're getting such a womanly body."

Sakura flushed. "Well, that does happen with age…"

Tomoyo cackled as she exited the washroom. "Hurry up, we're leaving soon. I'll pack your stuff for you."

* * *

Syaoran was waiting for the gang when they reached the bubble tea café. He was eased back into the couch, his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest.

"Bout time you guys got here," he said, opening one eye when they walked in through the door. "What took so long?"

Eriol smiled. "Unlike you, the busses stick to the speed limit."

The Wolf smirked in response. "So, a week left of classes…"

Everyone collapsed into the couch or pulled up a chair, relaxing on something comfortable for the first time in a few hours, since they had left Tokyo. The shop was quickly filling up with Tomoeda students that wanted to relax before they went home to study for the final exams. Sakura, however, wasn't working, leaving Yuri and an awkward teen boy named Johnny.

"Don't remind me," Chiharu sighed. "Becoming a nurse is some of the hardest stuff I've ever had to do. Worse than not talking to Takashi for a month."

Naoko grinned at the old memory, when Chiharu bet Takashi she'd be able to go without talking to him for a month. "You didn't even last a week, did you?"

Chiharu shook her head sadly. "He kept bringing me flowers and complimenting me, it was impossible!"

Jun cackled. "Takashi, _you the man._" he and Takashi high fived.

"What are everyone's summer plans?" Tomoyo piped, her camera present in her hands.

Rika's eyes shone. "I'm spending all summer with Terada-sensei," she swooned. "We're going on a trip around USA."

"Nothing." Eriol admitted sheepishly. "Maybe go back to England to visit? I'm not really sure. Probably nothing."

"Nothing here, either." Meiling nodded. "Lonely me!"

"My dad is coming back tomorrow, Toya is still in Tokyo with Nakuru-san, but we're not doing anything this summer. My dad has a whole summer thing in Egypt. Toya is going somewhere with Nakuru-san, Yukito-san and his girlfriend, on a trip. So I'm doing absolutely nothing." Sakura explained, grabbing a bubbletea from Yuri.

"What about you, Naoko?" Tomoyo asked, turning to face her four-eyed friend.

"I'm actually gonna be gone until October. I'm going on a research trip to Egypt. Maybe I'll see your father, Sakura-chan!"

"Why didn't you tell us you were going to leave us?" Meiling asked, disapproval in her voice.

Naoko chuckled nervously. "It's not like I'll be gone for that long. Just a few months. I'll bring you all back something nice!"

Takashi grinned maniacally. "Like sand, sand, and more sand?" '

Naoko flushed, and Chiharu patted her on the back. "Don't worry Naoko-chan," she smiled sympathetically. "He's just jealous that he's not doing anything this summer."

"Neither are you!" he retorted.

"U-uh," Jae stammered, trying to stop the fight. He reached for the two remotes to the Xbox 360. "You and me, Takashi. Street Fighter IV, bring it on."

Takashi's boy-spirit took over and he grabbed the remote.

"I'm going to visit my parents in New York." Jun nodded. "It's gonna be some boring-ass stuff, like living alone or something."

"What about you guys?" Rika asked, looking at Rain, Jae, and Hiro.

The three looked at each other. "Nothing," Rain and Jae replied at the same time. Hiro grunted.

"Me neither." Tomoyo admitted. She pointed the camera at Syaoran, who hadn't said much the whole conversation. "What about you, Syaoran?" '

He looked away_. I cannot force you to come back soon, but realize by your twenty-first birthday you will take over the Li Clan. I ask you come to Hong Kong by July 1st, 12 days before your birthday. If you fail to meet this, I will have to force you to return to Hong Kong. _

The words of his mother's email flashed at him. He only had four weeks before he had to go back.

"Nothing. My mother left for Hong Kong a few days ago." he replied, plucking the bubbletea out of Sakura's hands and sucking some of it down. "_Until July,_" he added under his breath.

"What was that, you thief?" Sakura asked, grabbing for her drink. Syaoran evaded her and drank more before he gave it back.

"Not as good as Honey Melon," he rolled his eyes, the strawberry sweet on his tongue.

"Shut up, Wolf."

"Well, to everyone that's going to be a loner for this summer, how about we go on a trip together!?" Tomoyo exclaimed excitedly. "Eriol, Sakura, Syaoran, Rain, Jae, Hiro, Takashi, Chiharu, Jun, Meiling and myself - it'll be fun!" then her eyes saddened. "Although it is regrettable that Naoko and Rika can't go."

Syaoran groaned. "Are you kidding? We just got back from Spinel Lake! AND as soon as we got back from Spinel Lake, we had to go to Tokyo! Are you kidding me?"

Jae blushed uncharacteristically. "You really want us to go? We just met."

"If you don't want to, you don't have to. But I really like you guys, and I'm sure everyone would agree."

Jae scratched his head.

"Well, it's summer time! Where are we going, guys?" she grinned.

Sakura blushed. "Tomoyo, we're not all rich like you."

"Au contraire, Sakura-chan. Meiling-chan's parents own that national restaurant chain, Syaoran is a famous star who was already rich before that, Eriol's father is the CEO of Hirigzawa Inc., Takashi's parents are actors, Jun's parents are the king and queen of _old _money, and…well, Rain, Jae, and Hiro don't look poor."

Rain smirked. "We can hold our own for the trip." the two brothers nodded in agreement.

"And don't pretend you're poor, Sakura," Tomoyo sighed. "It's not proper to talk about money, but you're just as wealthy."

"My mom's inheritance doesn't count."

"She was a _model,_" Jun furrowed his eyebrows. "That's a lot of money to inherit."

"Okay, okay!" Sakura looked away. "Where shall we go this summer?"

"I'm thinking beaches. Sun. Fun!" Chiharu exclaimed. "I need warmth! And cute boys!"

"Hey!" Takashi protested.

Rain hummed. "Hong Kong!"

"And see my mother? Hell no!" Syaoran rolled his eyes. Hiro, a few seats away from Syaoran on the couch, nodded his agreement.

Tomoyo's eyes lit up. "Korea!"

"TOO MUCH STARCRAFT!"

"California?"

"Man, we'll never decide." Sakura sighed.

And then, for the next hour and a half, a group of young men and women screamed at each other over where they would go for vacation.

_1.5 hours later… _

"So, we've come to a decision, right?" Jae sighed, rubbing his temples. "That was way too intense of a 'discussion' for me."

Rain nodded. "Yeah. So… a week in New York, followed by a week in Los Angeles, and then we head to Hong Kong? And decide from there?"

Unfortunately, Syaoran had lost that part of the fight to go to Hong Kong. _Yeah, and then I face the wrath of my mother. _

"Yes!" Tomoyo grinned. "As for hotels, we'll stay at a really fabulous one in both LA and New York. But… in Hong Kong, we're staying at your mansion, right, Syaoran?" Syaoran grunted in response.

"No way, you guys are staying at the penthouse," Jun told them. "In New York. Remember, I'm visiting my parents there? I won't be able to go with you guys on the rest of the trip, but New York should be fun."

Tomoyo just kept on grinning, like a kid in a candy store, looking down at her black apple laptop, which she had pulled out mid-fight/discussion. She started booking tickets. "Let's see, we'll leave… Thursday the 11th, in the evening after exams?"

"Sounds good." Eriol said, inching closer to Tomoyo and looking over her soft hair to see the screen. "Then, we arrive at New York on the morning of Saturday the 12th. We'll get tickets from New York to LA, on the night of June 21st, arrive the next morning at LA, and then stay until June 29. Does that sound good, everyone?"

"…"

"…I gotta tell you, Eriol, man," Takashi said, looking up from his game. "I didn't pay attention to a thing you or Tomoyo said. So I'll just trust you and say, 'yeah, sounds good,' so long as you aren't costing me a small fortune."

A round of chuckles and agreement.

"I'm not too happy about New York," Hiro exhaled. "My twin brother Hiru lives there."

"Hiro and Hiru?" Takashi chuckled. "What's wrong with him?"

Hiro rolled his eyes. "He's a lecherous bastard, that's what's wrong."

"Do your parents know that?" Tomoyo raised her eyebrows.

"We were adopted together by the Tan family in Hong Kong from Japan. They died three years ago."

Tomoyo flushed. "I'm… sorry, I didn't mean to…"

He grunted in response.

Sakura was taken aback. "That's more than just sibling rivalry. What happened?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it." he said rather coldly.

She felt the chill of his words. "Oh, uh… I'm… sorry…"

Noticing her tone, Hiro's eyes softened when he looked at the Cherry Blossom. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just. Complications."

"I need everyone's credit cards!" Tomoyo declared, whipping out her own, happy to change the subject.

Syaoran pulled his from his wallet and tossed it on the table, as did Takashi (who was paying for Chiharu, too), Meiling, Sakura, and the brothers.

"U-um, what about Nakamura-san?" Sakura asked Syaoran, looking away.

Syaoran's mouth formed a hard, tight line. "Oh, we'll probably see her in Hong Kong, when I refuse to marry her."

Sakura gulped. Suddenly, the vacation wasn't sounding that great.

* * *

"Tomoyo-chan, was it really necessary that I come?" Sakura asked nervously, glancing around the hallway to Jiro's office. Kero, who had been with the Daidouji's during their trip and the volleyball game, was trailing behind Sakura.

Tomoyo nodded and seized her wrist. "Come on, Sakura-chan. After what we talked about in Tokyo, I think it's time you met my father. For real meet him, not just see him then run away. At least you have Syaoran here. You needed to pick up Kero-chan, anyway."

Syaoran grunted in the dark. "What does he even do?"

"He's the CEO of a chain of hotels around the world. That's where we'll be staying on our travels."

"I thought your mom was a Toy Company president?" Sakura asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Oh, she is." Tomoyo replied.

Sakura groaned. "So that's why you're so rich."

The hallway was dark and Tomoyo didn't bother hitting the light switch. There was a mirror at the end of the hall. As they passed it, she saw Tomoyo's reflection in the ornate mirror, her gray - purple hair swishing past her waist and her dark amethyst eyes twinkling in determination.

She knocked on the door, and a deep voice called 'come in.' She obliged, pulling Sakura along.

"Hi, Otou-san," Tomoyo said formally. "How are you?"

"Fine, Tomoyo. Who are your friends?" he asked, getting up from his seat.

Sakura had been looking down, but couldn't help but look up at the man that was Tomoyo's father. And she held back her startled gasp as her eyes widened; for the man that stood in front of her had the face of an angel he was so handsome. His hair was black as a raven, messily on his head like he hadn't had time to comb his hair. His face was symmetrical and beautiful, the same shape as Toya's face, with perfect shaped onyx eyes. His eyelashes fluttered over his eyes, his skin paled from lack of rest. He was as tall as Fujitaka, with a lean, muscular build. He looked like someone Sakura knew but she was sure that if she'd met someone as beautiful as him, she would have remembered the man.

"This is Li Syaoran. He's from Hong Kong." Tomoyo introduced, pointing over at Syaoran. He bowed to Jiro.

Jiro nodded at Syaoran. "And this is…" he started, looking at Sakura, who again had her head tilted to the ground.

"This is Kinomoto Sakura, my best friend."

Sakura bowed and then looked up at him, studying his gorgeous face. He narrowed his eyes, looking at her up and down. His face was unmoving, set like stone. A gorgeous face carved out of marble.

"…Kinomoto? Are you Nadeshiko's daughter?" he finally asked. Syaoran inched closer to Sakura, suddenly feeling very protective.

"Y-yes." Sakura nodded, standing straight like a soldier. _Nadeshiko? _

"Yes… now I remember you. I haven't seen you since you were one years old. Always crying!"

_I am thankful Sakura is so young, so she cannot remember these past few months. _She recalled from her mother's diary. Sakura blushed. "I… err, sorry…"

"Well," he said curtly. "What can I do for you, Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo raised her eyebrow. "Well, I just wanted to make sure something was okay with you."

"And what would that be?" he asked, walking to his desk and sitting down.

"If it would be okay for me to go on a summer trip to New York, LA, Hong Kong, and wherever else." she replied, sitting at the chair across from her father.

Jiro pursed his lips for a second, then let them melt into a heart-stopping smile that he directed at his daughter. "Of course. When are you going to Hong Kong, though? I'll be in Hong Kong for a while for business, as well."

Tomoyo's eyes brightened. "We'll be there on June 30, for a few weeks. Syaoran's family lives there."

"Syaoran-san… as in, Li Syaoran, I heard earlier? Could your mother be… Li Yelan, of the Li Clan and Li Corporation?" Jiro asked, his inquisitive eyes scanning Syaoran. "You sure don't look like her. I remember her; long black hair and eyes as black as mine." his eyes danced as if recalling a fond memory.

Syaoran's lips tightened. "Yes, that's correct. My sisters and I inherit our looks from our late father, Li Xue."

"Ah, yes… I met him once, decades ago. Very wise, but he could sometimes be arrogant. His talent with martial arts was commendable. And his magi-"

"Could we please not talk about that?" Syaoran cut him off. "It's not appropriate."

Jiro paused, looking from Syaoran to his daughter and Sakura. He nodded crisply. "I see. My apologies. Well, that will be fine, Tomoyo. I'm in Hong Kong from June 27 until July 3rd, so I will see you there. I'll pick you up at the airport myself if I am not busy."

Suddenly, the phone rang, the light on it flashing like a disco ball. Sakura bit back a laugh, it was kind of a quirky thing to have in an office like this. He took one look at the number shown on the phone - an American number - and picked it up quickly.

"Hello?" He said in fluent, perfect English. "Yes, this is Daidouji Jiro." He looked up at Tomoyo, Syaoran and Sakura and dismissed them with a flick of his hand. "Ah, yes, about the -"

But Sakura could not hear the rest because the door had been shut behind them as they left.

"Well… that was… interesting." Sakura managed.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Was it me, or did he look like Rain, a little?"

Tomoyo nodded. "Yeah, I thought that the first time I met Rain-kun."

"He's so handsome, Tomoyo-chan. No wonder you're so pretty." Sakura grinned at her best friend.

"Hm, so is Rain! I guess it's just those black hair black eyed men," Tomoyo then winked at Syaoran. "But I think boys with amber eyes look pretty nice too! Don't you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura flushed. "Oh, um, yes." her blush deepened.

The trio and Kero arrived at the front door, where Sakura and Syaoran began to put on their shoes.

"So, Sakura-chyaaan… isn't your dad not coming home until tomorrow?" Tomoyo started, her eyebrows rising.

"Yeah…" Sakura replied, slipping on her high tops. "Why?"

"Oi, and Syaoran_-kun _your mom isn't home either, right?"

Syaoran looked at her suspiciously. "Correct…"

Placing her hands on her cheeks, Tomoyo pouted. "Aw, you two will be so alone! Sakura home alone, that's so dangerous! And Syaoran, in that big old mansion… you two should keep each other company!"

Simultaneously, the duo blushed a ripe tomato red. "NO way!" they both shouted. And they turned their heels on Tomoyo and ran down to Syaoran's car, Kero whining in Sakura's arms.

"Ohohohohohoho!"

* * *

The roar of the engine overwhelmed Sakura's yelp as Syaoran suddenly pulled the car into drive. He sped along the roads towards Sakura's house.

"…"

"Dotdotdot…"

Sakura coughed and reached in her bag to fiddle with her cell phone and checked for messages, then petted Kero's head.

"Um…"

"Yeeah…"

Syaoran cleared his throat, clutching the wheel tighter.

"Maybe Tomo -" "Which exam are-" They said at the same time.

Syaoran cleared his throat again. "You first."

Sakura giggled nervously. "Ehehe, what exam are you taking tomorrow?"

"Chinese," he replied. "You too, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah… so maybe…"

"…er, maybe Tomoyo is right. What kind of friend leaves his friend alone at night? You can come stay over at the mansion if you want. We have plenty of rooms… and uh, we're taking the same exam anyway."

Her ears began to twinge a little, then she scratched her head. Looking out the window, the sun was shining and the trees zoomed by. _Just how fast is he going this time? _

"…ah, sure, why not? But only if Kero can come over, too." she gestured down to the fat dog. She scratched his round ears affectionately.

"No problem. Let's… umm, go grab your stuff from your house." Syaoran said awkwardly. "Let's uh, listen to music, hey? He suggested, reaching down to press the 'on' button on his stereo. Bass blared out, a hip hop song filling the car..

"_- take off all ya clothes! It is getting so hot, I wanna take my clot-" _

Blushing madly, Syaoran quickly pressed the same button he had a moment ago. Never mind.

"…"

"…"

"Um… wonder why they're playing such old songs on the radio…" Syaoran chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Umm…"

"Yeeah…"

Sakura then laughed softly. "So, ah, Daidouji-san was quite…"

"Straight dick," Syaoran cut her off. "Did you see the way he looked at you?"

"N-no… but he is quite a beautiful man." Sakura admitted sheepishly.

He made a disgusted noise. "And did you see the look in his eyes when he talked about my mother? It was like he was undressing the thought of my mother with his imagination."

Sakura raised her fine auburn eyebrow. "How do guys notice these things about other guys?"

"We just do." Syaoran scoffed. "Daidouji Jiro." He scoffed again.

"Well, I dunno…"

He scoffed once again. "I can't believe he'll be in Hong Kong. He talked as if he knew my mother, so he'll probably end up at the mansion."

"And I take it you don't want that?" Sakura asked, leaning back into the Gallardo's cushy seats.

"Neither should you."

"…we're near my house. I'll, uh, just grab some overnight things. My pajamas and stuff."

Syaoran nodded with a sleazy grin. _I wonder what she wears to sleep. WAIT! No! I'm not thinking that! Er…_

"HEY! YOU HAVE A NICE BAG!" he exclaimed suddenly, grabbing it at the next red light. He effectively scared the shit out of Sakura, and Kero jumped at the sudden movement, glaring at the taller man. "This will go lovely on my lap." he plastered a great big fake smile on his face as he placed the bag on his lap, and apparently, his third leg.

"Um… okay…"

_Thank god she's dense. _

"Just let me grab my cell phone, I guess," she said, then reached over and put her hand in the bag. "Let's see, where is it…" Sakura's hand grazing him was totally not what he needed. Snatching her hand out of the bag, he rummaged inside until he found her cell phone. "HERE'SYOURCELLPHONEHEREYOUGONOPROBLEM!" Syaoran rambled crazily.

Sakura blinked with wide eyes. "…_what?_"

"Um…"

"Yeah…"

"Ehe.. uh… let's try this music thing again." he suggested again, reaching over and pressing the power button again, but quickly turned the station to another mainstream one.

"_- the windooow! To the wall! To the sweat drops down my bal-"_

The song ended with the click of a button.

"Umm…"

"Yeeah…"

"God, what happened to censored radio…"

* * *

Syaoran parked the Gallardo in the half empty garage, then got out with the slam of the midnight-black door. Sakura followed suite, and he clicked a button on his remote started to activate the alarm with a _beep-beep. _He walked to the door and held it open for Sakura and Kero.

"You first." He grunted.

"Thanks." Sakura smiled, walking through the door with her overnight bag slung over her shoulder. Wei stood a few feet away, dusting a mirror.

"Welcome home, Syaoran-sama," Wei said carefully, bowing. "May I ask who this is?"

Sakura bowed immediately.

"This is Kinomoto Sakura. Her family is out of town, so I invited her to stay here," Syaoran informed him. "I hope this won't burden you, Wei."

Wei shook his head, his gray hair glinting from the light. "Of course not."

"Sakura, this is Wang Wei."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kinomoto-sama." Wei said softly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, as well." Sakura smiled kindly at the elderly man.

"I am going to show Sakura to her room, Wei. Can you please change the sheets in Fanran's room when you aren't busy?"

Wei nodded. "Of course."

The two turned the corner towards the living room. "You know it's weird, we haven't known each other that long, but you're a part of the gang. It's like you've been with us the whole time." Sakura hummed.

Syaoran nodded in agreement. "Well, I did know Eriol for a long time, so I guess that helped matters." He slid off his shoes and walked up the winding grand staircase to the upper floors.

"That's true, but what about Rain, Jae and Hiro? We've only met them for a little while and they're already going on vacation with us." Sakura replied, following him up the stairs, grasping the cool marble railing. Kero whined but followed obediently.

"Point taken," Syaoran said, stopping at his room and tossing his bags inside. He sat down on his bed and looked up at Sakura, who stood by the door. "I find you all to be a happy, open group. Those three haven't done anything wrong, and I don't believe them to be bad people. I trust them."

"Yeah." Sakura smiled, fiddling with the strap of her bag. "I'm not sleeping here am I?"

Syaoran's head perked up, as if he had just remembered. "Oh yeah, follow me," he led her to the room next to his, and pushed the door open to reveal a very blue room. The walls were painted a lovely sky blue, the furniture all white or slate-gray. Against the middle of the back wall was a large, white queen sized bed, with night stands next to it. Closer to the door was a vanity, and a door to a joined washroom was next to the closet. "This is where you can sleep. My sister, Fanran slept here when they were in Tomoeda, but they're gone, now."

Kero make a noise of comfort and jumped up on the bed, immediately settling into the comfy mattress.

"Well, Kero-chan likes it," Sakura chuckled, rubbing the dog's belly. "Thank you for letting me stay here." She told Syaoran, looking into his eyes sincerely.

Syaoran immediately looked away and flushed. "No problem." _Since when did I get so nervous? I didn't get nervous singing in front of thousands of people… but this girl… _

"So, to pay you back, I'll make you and Wei-san dinner!" Sakura exclaimed, clasping her hands together excitedly.

"Oh, um," Syaoran scratched his head. "Wei goes out to eat with his wife every night, so…"

Sakura shrugged. "Okay, just you and me." Kero whined. "And Kero!" she added with a wink.

"Really, Sakura, you don't have to." Syaoran shook his head. "Wei usually makes food before he leaves."

"No way, I'm doing it." Sakura grinned determinedly. "Do you have ingredients?"

"Well, yes, this house is quite stocked, but…"

Sakura turned on her heel and down towards the kitchen. "Great! Dinner's at 6!"

"Feh…"

Sakura skipped down the stairs and nearly ran smack-dab into Wei.

"Oh, I'm sorry Wang-san," Sakura apologized. "I was just on my way to the kitchen. To repay Syaoran, I'm going to make him dinner. He told me you go out with your wife to eat?"

Wei nodded. "Calling me Wang-san is unnecessary, Kinomoto-sama, just Wei." his eyes danced. "And yes, that's correct. I don't leave until five, so if you need anything please don't hesitate to call."

Sakura nodded vigorously. "I will, thank you. And please, call me Sakura."

"Alright, Sakura-sama. I must continue with my duties." He walked off.

Looking around, Sakura found the kitchen and dining room were open spaces, and she could access the living room easily. In fact, it was all in the same open room, but granted, it was a huge room. Sakura trotted to the living room and looked around. Near the flat screen tv in the wall, she found a stereo. "Perfect!" she squealed to herself.

She walked over and turned it on, music on an unknown CD filling the room. She was just about to turn it down when Syaoran walked into the room, dressed in basketball shorts and a tshirt, looking much more comfortable than when he wore all his designer clothes.

"Hey you!"

"Hi, Wolfie!" Sakura greeted him, turning the knob on the stereo to turn down the music.

"I'm going to help you cook dinner," Syaoran said, scratching his head. "What are we making?"

Sakura frowned. "Why won't you let me cook?"

"Come on. Stop being so stubborn. What are we making?" Syaoran looked away, a mad blush on his face. He shoved his hands into his pockets uncomfortably.

"Do you like spaghetti? It's my specialty."

Syaoran nodded. "Sure. We can stay in and watch a movie if you want…"

Sakura grinned. "Sure! Can you get a pot of water on the stove for the spaghetti? I'm going to go change into something comfortable." she said, gesturing at his at-home clothing.

"Sure."

Skipping through the hallways, she dashed up the stairs and into the sky-blue room she was staying in. Sakura ran into the washroom and looked at herself – her hair was messy and she looked so tired (definitely hung over.) Grabbing a comb, she ran it through her straight auburn hair, then washed her face quickly.

_What am I doing? All this for Li Syaoran? _

Next, she dove into her bag of clothing, reaching in and pulling out black track pants and a form fitting green tank top. _Syaoran likes green._ She stripped quickly and put the clothes on, the track pants comfortable. The tank top fit her slender, curvy body perfectly, but didn't reach all the way down to her hips. It ended a couple centimeters lower than her belly button, revealing the very bottom of her stomach a little. She tried pulling it down a little, but it didn't work.

Sakura then ran down the stairs to find Syaoran pulling out cutting boards and the like. "Hey! Okay, I'm ready." She announced, grabbing an apron off of a rack. Syaoran turned to her, and his eyes immediately travelled to the tank top.

"…what is it?" she blushed.

Syaoran smirked. "Nice shirt."

"Um thanks," Sakura blinked. "Since I don't know your house – I mean, mansion – you need to go get the ingredients." She rattled off a list of vegetables and fruits, counting them off her graceful fingers. Grumbling, Syaoran went to grab the ingredients.

"Syaoran, you idiot! You can't add dry and wet ingredients together in a bowl!"

"THIS IS HARDER THAN IT LOOKS!"

"No, it isn't! AHH I said slice not dice!"

"ISN'T IT THE SAME SHIT?"

"NO!"

"Oh my god, since when was this harder than martial arts?"

"SYAORAN! DON'T ADD THAT IN… OH MY GOSH!"

So, it turns out cooking with Sakura wouldn't be as fun as Syaoran thought. After Sakura mended everything Syaoran had ruined, she huffed and told him she was going to shower, since he had gotten tomato in her hair.

Sitting in a chair, watching the sauce simmer and the cake bake in the oven (apparently even he couldn't mess that up), Syaoran glanced at the clock. What was taking her so long, it had already been thirty minutes. Sighing, he held his head up with his hand, resting his elbow on the table. Bah. Women.

Upstairs, Sakura opened the door of the washroom, all the steam coming out as she did so. She dried her body and rubbed at her hair with the towel, standing naked in front of the bed.

"Great! My clothes are ruined, now I have nothing to wear!" Sakura exclaimed, looking at Kero and pouting. "And I was wearing an apron, too!"

She rummaged through her things and indeed found nothing but a clean pair of panties. "Just great! Well, this is _his _fault, so I'm going to wear something of his!" she huffed, putting on her panties.

Sakura wrapped the towel around herself and marched out into the hallway and into Syaoran's green room. It was empty, thankfully, and she slammed the door. Looking in his closet, she grabbed the smallest shirt she could find, a black t-shirt with white Chinese characters on it and threw it onto his bed. She then found a pair of shorts that she could tie to make tighter. "This shouldn't be too bad." Sakura rolled her eyes. Throwing the towel off, in just her panties, She leaned over the bed to grab the shirt, at the same moment the door opened. "Sakura, is that –"

Her breasts bounced as she quickly moved from leaning to standing position. Undoubtedly, Syaoran's eyes went straight to them.

She gasped, covering her half naked body with the shirt.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"LI SYAORAN!" Sakura began to fume as soon as she walked into the living room, her face reddened by the previous events. Her long auburn locks were wet and hung limply around her face. "How long have we known each other?! And you've already seen me naked… what, three times?!"

Syaoran blushed and looked away. "Twice. And why are you the only one that gets to be mad? You _were _in _my _room!"

"You got my clothes dirty," Sakura huffed. "So I wore yours. It's your fault!" she exclaimed, gesturing to her clothed body. The black shirt was baggy beyond belief and the shorts were like basketball shorts.

"My fault? That you have low avoidance skills? You could have dodged half of the stuff I spilled." Syaoran shot back, crossing his muscular arms.

"I was wearing an _apron. _God knows only you could have gotten things on my clothes WITH an apron protecting me!"

"I'm not _supposed _to be able to cook. I'm a man!"

Sakura scoffed. "A _man._"

"Uh, hello, I've seen you naked _twice. _No shit I'm a man!"

Sakura placed her hands on her hips, her mouth forming a tiny o. "Well! You can eat alone tonight!" she exclaimed, stomping into the kitchen.

"Stop stomping. You walk like… like a monster!" Syaoran called, following her into the kitchen.

Sakura froze, effectively causing Syaoran to crash into her.

_Monster? Kaijuu? _

"Ow! Dammit you monster, learn to walk!"

Sakura continued walking to the kitchen counters, where an array of ingredients lay.

"How dare you!?"

She picked up a few slices of tomato and threw it at the pop star, who was too stunned to duck or deflect the red shuriken.

"Ah!" He took a step back from the impact of the tomato. It hit him on the cheek, the tomato sliding off slowly, leaving its insides on Syaoran's blemish free cheek.

"Oh no you did _not_!" Syaoran hollered (because, dear me, _Li Syaoran _did not shriek like he had a moment ago.) He stormed past Sakura, who tried running away. But expertly, he grabbed her wrist and held her there.

She squirmed under his grip. "Sy-ao-ran! Let go!" she squealed, attempting to pull herself out of his hard grip.

"I don't think so, Sa-ku-ra!" Syaoran replied. And then he dumped flour from the spaghetti noodles on her already wet hair. Then he spread it on her face as well. She screamed in response.

"Syaoran!"

Said "man" smirked. "Take that, Sakura!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You know, I think my cooking is rather _egg_celent," Sakura nodded. Then she reached behind Syaoran, both arms around him like a cage. Syaoran gazed down (because he was just _that_ tall) into her emerald orbs. His amber eyes danced playfully.

"I bet it sucks." He told her, obviously not catching the egg.

Sakura smiled deviously. She pulled back her hands and slammed an egg on the top of his head (which was quite a feat, since she was _that _short) and then one onto his forehead.

The slimy goo started sliding down, but Syaoran brought a hand up and wiped it away.

"Looks like I'll just have to… _tickle you to death!" _he ended the sentence with a low, scary whisper. She took off running and Syaoran ran after her. She didn't make it far (hello, Syaoran Li, track star and everything-else star), Syaoran caught up to her in the living room. Winding an arm around her waist, they fell together onto the rug in the living room. He hovered over her, both legs on either side of her, effectively trapping her.

"No! Li Syaoran if you da-"

And his hands found the sides of her stomach, sadistically tickling her. Sakura burst out into forced laughter.

"No-haaHAHA-s-stop-HAAHA-Ah! Syaora-Ahaaha!"

"Speak coherently," Syaoran winked at her. "I don't speak _retard._"

This time Sakura laughed, but not because he was tickling her. She burst into a fit of giggles, and Syaoran's hands briefly stopped tickling the poor volleyball player.

Then, for a moment he stopped. Then she stopped.

He was still over top of her, both hands resting on her stomach. Hers were awkwardly on his neck and shoulder from grasping at him, trying to shove him off when he had tickled her. Electricity rippled down Syaoran's body into Sakura as amber met emerald again. Syaoran leaned down, and this time, he didn't miss.

Their lips met in a perfect moment. Winding her around his shoulders, Sakura pulled him to her. Gripping her waist tightly, bringing her body to him, Syaoran pulled her to him. Sakura thought that her first kiss with Syaoran (because, dear _god, _of _course _she had thought about it) would be all rainbows and smiles and clouds. Instead she got the scent of eggs and flour and tomatoes mixed with Syaoran's spicy cologne and natural smell that just _hooked _her. He flicked his tongue onto her bottom lip slowly, seductively, and she eagerly opened her mouth to him; their tongues meeting. Their breath was hot against each other's faces, and the deeper Syaoran kissed her, the hazier Sakura's vision became. Of course she had thought of nothing last night when Syaoran didn't kiss her (when she was sober, of course. When she was drunk... that's different.), and the pent up frustrations exploded out of her and she kissed back forcefully. Syaoran breathed in her scent of vanilla, cherry blossoms and strawberries (because of _course _she smelled like her name, Syaoran thought with a mental eye roll), the passion of their fight still built up as they both dueled for dominance. In the end Syaoran won, pressing her deeper against the carpet of the living room, yet still holding up his weight against her small body.

Yesterday she had been sexier than anything he had seen, like a gift from the gods, and he had not kissed her like this. Here she was, flour on her auburn hair (which, Syaoran noted, was fanned out against the ground like some surreal sex goddess), and on her face. And he was kissing the shit out of her.

It was unlike any kiss either had ever experienced. Syaoran broke away gently, keeping so close that their lips just brushed. He brought his right hand up and gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, her skin naturally soft, the flour slippery under his fingertips. They lingered there for a moment before he traced her jaw down to her chin. Sakura's breathing became labored as she opened her eyes to stare up at Syaoran. And then he dipped down again and claimed her lips as his.

Her lips were soft against his, and her hands travelled up towards the back of his neck, pressing down, their faces becoming as close as they could without it being squeezed uncomfortably. He didn't notice her hands slide down and lay at her side, they just remained kissing.

Then she punched him. In the face.

She _punched _him.

"What the hell?!" Syaoran exclaimed, bringing a hand to his cheek in disbelief, the taste of Sakura still on his tongue. Sakura had jumped up at the same time she had punched the wolf. He got a glimpse of her running into the kitchen. "Sakura?!"

"OH MY GOD THE CAKE!" Sakura screamed. Syaoran then detected the scent of burning and smoke coming from the kitchen.

Syaoran sighed. _Fuck my life. _

* * *

After they had cleaned up the burning cake and half-ruined kitchen, the two brought their dinner to the living room (avoiding the spot in the rug that had molded into the shape of the two with a blush), watched a movie and ate.

They walked up the stairs together, flour and egg in hair, tomato on face. Syaoran stopped Sakura's room.

"Ah- goodnight, Sakura."

Sakura rose an eyebrow and looked up at Syaoran. She brought up a small, _(so small compared to Syaoran's) _hand and brushed a bit of tomato away and wiped it on Syaoran's shirt.

"Oh thanks, Strawberry girl." Syaoran rolled her eye. He noticed her hand still on his shirt.

Their eyes connected again, but Sakura looked away quickly. Then, she brought up her hand to the back of Syaoran's neck, pulling his face down to hers. Syaoran closed his eyes, leaning forward to her lips as if it were something he did every day. But his lips connected nothing, but there was a burning spot at the corner of his mouth that Sakura had apparently kissed.

"What the hell?" Syaoran asked in disbelief.

Sakura smirked, turning and walking to her room. Then she turned and looked over her shoulder at him. "Payback's a bitch." And then she walked in, shutting the door behind her.

Syaoran sighed. _That's what I get. _

* * *

_Next chapter... _

"... hello, Hiru."

"Greetings, _gege_."

"..."

"Ah, so cold, _Big Brother._"

"Stay away from Sakura."

"I didn't even walk towards her. I looked at her."

"Exactly. Keep your dirty eyes to yourself..."

"I doubt I'll be able to."

"Do you have a death wish?"

"... you're _Li _aren't you? I guarantee, Li_-san, _by the end of this week, Sakura-_chan _won't want to leave."

"Stay the fuck away from her, Hiru!"

"Since when did I listen to you, _gege_?"

* * *

Dun dun dun! Drama with Hiro and Hiru! I did tell you Hiru is a lecherous bastard, didn't I? Hehe. There we go! Did you like it? This is so fluffy in my opinion. It was hard to write. Hah, I bet you were all "wtf" at the lack of fluff last chapter, so here you go. Of course, this happens for a reason; I bet you didn't expect a kiss for a while. But there's a reason why they kissed this chapter… so hope you liked it! I actually like this chapter very much. Please, everyone, review! It encourages me to write more. This was hard to write cos last chapter was the lowest reviewed chapter ever! Very discouraging. T__T

AND YES, all the stuff in the brackets was there for a reason. I tried a different writing style for a lighter feel.

Review please!

_Note! "Gege" means big brother in mandarin. _

- Yuukie


	10. Yo! AN FTW!

Greetings, everyone!

Well, it's been a while. Yup. And once again, I'm sorry.

Welcome to May and June, the worst damn months of my life! It's my grade nine year, so I have lots of final exams and high school entrance exams and whatnot. Also, I'm on two sports teams, plus my regular volleyball training, plus BEACH volleyball training. And I also want to have something of a life so there are my friends and family too. So... for the next two months, unless I get sick or something, don't expect a new chapter. I'm really sorry about this, but yeah I do have my life and stuff. So basically my life is ...

Get up early  
Shower  
AM Practice  
School  
PM Practice  
Go Home  
Eat  
Shower  
Pass out dead on my bed.

_repeat._

It's very tiring, but that's what I get from being a girly jock LOL. I find myself missing some homework, actually, because all I do is sleep and play sports. That's why fanfiction can't be anymore of a distraction, I _really _need to start studying. Not that my grades are low, it's just that I know they can be higher. I'll be back before you know it, and yenno... just keep reviewing, kay? When I come back I wanna see more and then I'll be bursting with fruity flavour and write the shit out of this story. ^_^. Not to mention, for those of you that read _Naruto, _that I'm still broken up over my husband's death. If he is. We'll see... I just won't believe it until it's spelled out to me in black and white.

My sincerest apologies, and please keep reading. Once summer rolls around, I'll be working, volleyball training, and summer school (not like when you fail, but when you want to get extra credits), but I will still have more time to write for you guys.

- Hatake Jun Yukiie


End file.
